Children of the Sun
by ImpVarjack61
Summary: It's Anna! In Space...space...space! Follow Anna, Olaf, and Michael (OC) on this epic quest to reach a new world and start the human race over. As Michael is rescued from his nightmarish existence on Earth, all his dreams come true, but like anything else, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. Modern AU, Science Fiction, Rated T... It's back, Part 2 now starting!
1. No Comfort

_A/N, this introduction will be as long as the first chapter is. Bear with me, as this story is very complicated, and deserves an explanation, along with some warnings. Children of the Sun is a dive into madness, as our main OC character Michael is in a rather rough spot in his life, and the first chapter is somewhat depressing. While it starts there, it doesn't stay there, although there are many ups and downs in this tale._

 _This represents my first shot at Science Fiction, but don't expect pew-pew-pew laser battles and weird aliens. This is about Utopia, and all the pitfalls that Utopias bring, they are notoriously hard to manage._

 _This story is also another attempt of mine at the 'Fractured Romance'. Anna enters Michael's life in a strange way, and their relationship is even stranger._

 _There's an old saying in the stage community that goes like this; "If there is a gun on mantle in the first act, by the third, it must go off." And that's true in this story. I love setups, and there are setups for stuff I haven't even written yet. Not everything said here is the truth, and people say things that are wrong. It's kinda' like the internet._

 _Now for the warnings. There are trigger events galore in this tome, even Michael gets triggered, and at some point I may have to go to an 'M' rating. This is the kiss of death here on this site, so I've tried to write this without being too sexually graphic, and it kinda' cheapens the tale anyhow. That said, there is sex, sexual violence, torture, severe bodily trauma, depression, attempted murder, awkward cultural moments, religion, politics, words of curse, and any number of things that could make you feel queasy. Some of my favorite stories here on FF do just that, and that's why I read them. This is supposed to be art. It's supposed to affect you emotionally, you should cry, be offended, happy when things go well, and sad when they don't. There are plenty of feel good stories here on FF, and I enjoy a good Kristanna one shot fluffer as much as anyone else. Hell, I even wrote one._

 _I really didn't think I'd have another one of these drawn out tales in me. Then the idea came and the words pored forth. Twenty eight chapters in three weeks, ya, I don't have a life right now. I know many of you are very busy, with school, writing, and life. Usually several things at a time._

 _I have to send a shoutout to my inspiration Hatesolstice, I never thought I'd do a modern AU, and now I'm on the second one. This is a far bigger tale than my Angels Awaken saga, and those twenty eight chapters only represent part one. Then my plan is to go to a weekly 'drabble' format in part two, so it'll be like a TV show, with daily life situations, criminal mysteries, etc. My apologies in advance to the LGBTQ community, as due to the nature of the story, ya' kinda' got left out. I do have a plan to be inclusive in part two, if I think I can make it work._

 _Now that I've bored you to death, our story starts out with the first four chapters, as it's kinda' dry, but I need to set the Michael character up, and get you up to speed on the Utopia setting, then it's all Anna for the most part from here on out. This is once again a POV story from Michael's side. As an old guy, I find I can relate to the male experience better, but part two will have some stuff from Anna's perspective, as she grows and becomes more independent._

 _OK, wake up! It's time to start the epic journey across the galaxy, with the Children of the Sun..._

* * *

It was another Monday, grey and drizzly. It felt like that every day. The sun would give no comfort. Wake up, watch the same crap on TV about some great bargain that was going to change my life and finally bring me happiness. I wanted to throw that damned-able box out the window. I choked down some breakfast, it brought no joy. It's the same crap I've been eating for years.

By the time showering and shaving are over, exhaustion has set it. Throw on some crappy clothes for an even crappier job. I walk out to the car, toss myself into the seat, put the key in the ignition and just stare at it for a minute. Once I've turned it, there's no going back. I can barely summon the strength to face another day. Rinse and repeat, over and over, how long can I keep doing this?

If I step off the Merry-Go-Round, the party's over. So I'll keep up this menagerie for as long as I can, it's all I know.

I'm a welder by trade. It was a choice I made when I was too young to make such decisions. But it's too late, I feel I've missed out on what should have been. Sometimes we miss our calling in life. Not everyone gets to live out the fairy tale, and my chances of hitting the lottery are thin, or so I thought.

The thirty minute ride to work left me with time to think, and to pray to what ever deity who would happen to listen to come down here and fix this shit show.

Humans weren't capable of it, we're too far down the rabbit hole. If all this misery is to end, we're gonna' need some help, and I didn't care who did it. I didn't believe in one religious sect, to me it seemed unfair that only one group was right, and everybody else on the planet was doomed to a fiery eternity, what deity would do that?

The sun had poked out tiny fingers of light by the time I got to work, which was late, apparently I stared at that key too long today. Very little light made it into the shop anyway. It was dingy, and gritty, and stunk to high heaven. I once dreamed of welding in space, on some big space station. Ya know, like in the movies. The ones we were supposed to have right now. Just floating weightless, and pain free. It would certainly be a lot cleaner. And you ain't seen a good weld unless it's been done in a vacuum, those things are perfect.

I was building the frame for a machine that would make concrete blocks. It wasn't glamorous, but I was making something. That's a small step up from the worker bees buzzing around in some fast food joint, but it brings little comfort, my name wouln't be on some marque, there'll be no awards given out for the stack of dimes I'm layin' down today...

* * *

Just then the lights went out. No electricity means no work for me. Time to head outside for a smoke. I was staring down at the ground sitting on an old reel that had at one time held wire. Surrounded by broken bits of machines that had gone beyond their useful lives, I certainly was in equal company, I felt the same as these castaway relics of better times.

As I lit up, I could feel the cough coming, I hadn't been able to shake it for a few months, and I was debating going to the doctor. That is usually an exercise in futility, they're just there to collect your money, then go golfing on Wednesdays.

Just as I was finishing my break a large shadow past over the ground and blocked the sun.

That didn't make any sense, there wouldn't be a solar eclipse here for another fifty years. Then I seen it, it was gigantic. It had to be twenty miles long. The ship looked like a giant Hot Pocket, so that was the cigar shape that had been bandied about in UFO circles for so long.

"It's about time you assholes showed up!" I screamed to the heavens. I had no fear, what could they do?

"Go ahead and blow it all straight to hell!"

Then I seen a few tiny tendrils coming down from the underbelly. One of them came straight for me. "Come on, you sonsa' bitches!, I'm ready!" And then I was swallowed up, never to be seen on Earth again.


	2. Awakening

I woke up in an all white room. How fuckin' cliche' is this? There must have been two dozen movies that did this bit. Where was I? I was at work, then the power went out. I went outside, and then there was the shadow...

Am I dead? then I started getting my bearings. I was in what looked like pajamas, all white of course, just to add to the effect. Then I looked at my feet. They were completely different. I had flat, club feet. These looked like they belonged to an athlete. Wait a second!, I stripped all my clothes off, this wasn't my body at all! At least not the flabby sixty year old carcass I had been dragging around the last few years. I was ripped! I looked like I was twenty!

"Maybe this will help." A full length mirror materialized out of the wall, it was me, a much younger me, and any defect I had in the past was gone. I smiled, all my teeth were straight. I had a tooth that was poorly capped, it was gone. I had needed glasses, my vision was perfect now. In my excitement I forgot to look at my junk, looks like I gained a couple of inches. "But if I'm dead, why do I need a bigger penis?"

"Your not dead, Michael. You're very much alive."

"Show yourself, spirit." A floating round metallic ball came out of the whiteness, it had a grill on it's lower hemisphere and dark tinted window on it's upper half.

"I am Olaf, and I'll be your personal assistant on your journey here."

Olaf? How would he know that name? Oh my God, Frozen, my hidden obsession. But I never talked to anyone about that, that was very embarrassing.

"We know your thoughts, your primitive minds are very easy to read. The cinematic representation of Frozen dominates your thoughts to the point of saturation."

Then they knew about the 'Frozen Shrine'. I had taken a room in my house and filled it with Frozen merchandise. It wasn't a hard thing to do. their junk was everywhere, I had even bought paper towels with their pictures on them. The room looked like every nine year old girls dream come true. I'd go in there and watch that movie over and over, I called it 'going for the ride'. I'd write stories that only I would read, being too embarrassed to show them to anybody. Tales of adventure and romance, and Anna, my hero in all this. She was my favorite fictional character ever. Now I'll never see any of that ever again.

"So, Olaf, what in the hell is this all about, and why me?"

"First, can you please put your clothes back on? I'd feel more comfortable, and this might take a while."

"Oh, right." A stool popped up out of the floor.

"Please take a seat. This vessel is on a mission to populate a planet approximately fifteen hundred and twenty light years from here. Michael, our people are slowly dying out. Our DNA has been degrading. It is much more complicated than yours. The human species DNA is very easy to fix, as you may have noticed. Incidentally, you had stage one lung cancer before we showed up."

"Yea, and thanks, I think. Your not just fixing me so I taste better, are you?"

"You are very funny, Michael, but no, that's not what we have in mind."

"OK, then what is on your mind?"

"We want to incorporate your DNA into our own."

"You need breeders?"

"In a sense, yes."

"OK, do go on. I can't wait to here this."

"We have searched the galaxy for a species that has a quality that we cannot reproduce, and that's the way your species thinks, Michael."

"Thinks?!, are you kidding me?, I'm certifiable, you've seen it, all that Frozen crap in my head, I should have been institutionalized. In other words, I'm nuts."

"That is from the perspective of the society in which you lived. You're actually a critical thinker, one who analyzes every move. We can create tissue from scratch, we can add memories, but we cannot create the thinking process, and with the way your mind works you have what we need to start this new world."

"But how did you know to pick me?"

"We heard your prayers."

Oh, my God! is this God? This isn't what I expected. I guess pearly gates are out of the question.

"So what now, am I getting room and board on this vessel?"

"You could say that. You will be living in the Habitat for about the next five of your years."

"Are there others?"

"Yes, there are about two hundred and fifty of your species on board."

"Will I be breeding with them?"

"Lets leave that question for another time, we cannot allow you to have contact with them just yet, but there will come a time when you will be able to socialize with others from your race. You have also been gifted with a universal language with which you can speak to them with."

Here we go, secrecy. the one thing that spells mistrust. I had better stay on guard.

"Will I be meeting with your species?" This was the big one.

"No, we are quite xenophobic. You will communicate to us only thru me. We may at some time in the future change this, but for now, we are off limits to any personal contact."

Bingo! that's what I figured. They don't want to show their faces. Are they hideous monsters?, are they two feet tall? They obviously don't want to show their hand, yet want me to help make babies for them. While I'm grateful for what they've done, I sure hope that I'm more than just some zoo animal they keep around for their personal amusement.

"Come, it is time for you to see your new home." A door appeared at the end of the room and I stepped into what appeared to be a shuttle. It was very stark, just seats and a gate, which looked like they added opaque shielding to prevent me from seeing outside. I felt it take off, so we must be flying. That's funny, flying inside a space ship. I wondered what kind of cell I'd be kept in. I hoped it wouldn't look like the inside of this craft. We landed, the gate opened and the light streamed in...


	3. The Habitat

Oh.. My...God...

I cannot possibly be alive, if this what heaven looks like, it was worth the wait. It was a paradise. A crystalline lake was at it's center, and the outer perimeter was all forest. The trees were very tall, like they had been growing for centuries. All manners of creatures great and small were roaming around, and the air was filled with the songs of birds, the sky was full of them. The hull of the ship was so large that this place had its own weather. Clouds very slowly wafted about, and I could feel the occasional raindrop. Meadows were everywhere with the grass swaying gracefully, while near the lake was a sandy beach. Trails ran about that looked like polished marble.

Flowers, flowers grew everywhere there was a spot to put them, and the place had an earthy, flowery fragrance . This cannot be real, I don't deserve this. I started to hyper ventilate, struck by intensity of its beauty.

"Have a seat, Michael. Are you alright?, will you need medical assistance?"

"I'm, OK. Just a bit overwhelmed." The bench I was on had the same marble appearance as the trail, but it didn't feel like stone. It was an artificial substance, when I found out how it was made, it would seem as close to magic as I ever came.

"We can stay here for a minute if you'd like, but we should get to your domicile soon. While this environment is beautiful, it is not ready for full time use just yet."

"Yea, Olaf, just give me a minute." There was so much to take in, my mind was in overload. It'll take five years just to explore all this.

"Is this our sun?"

"No Michael, you've been in stasis for about a year. This is one of many, many stars we will be visiting on our journey."

"Can you describe how this ship works to me?" There was a brief pause. I would learn that whenever he hesitated, he was confirming with the Masters.

"This ship folds space between star systems, it follows the gravity wells of the stars themselves. The engines take about one week to spool up, then the energy is released all at once. Here becomes there and we're at another star. It's a bit time consuming, but we are patient, we've been at this for a while now."

Folding space, the stuff of science fiction. How many geeks on Earth would be pissing their underoos right now? I've been given the greatest opportunity that any human has ever been gifted with, what did I do to deserve this? I have hit the cosmic lottery,... jackpot.

"Michael, we really must go, we will be rotating into nighttime soon."

"Very well, Olaf. Lead the way."

The house looked like those ski lodges you see in the mountains. Lots of glass for viewing the environment, and it had the look of wooden construction, but it was neither wood, nor was it constructed. I got to the door, and there was no lock. "I guess I wouln't be needing a set of keys, right Olaf?"

"Locking doors are quite unnecessary here. You have nothing to fear. If we have to get inside, mere walls will not stop us." Ugh, that seems kinda' sinister, still no trust for us yet.

Walking in proved anything but alien. Couches, tables, lamps. It was all very familiar and normal, these guys had done there research. It had a mid century/ danish modern feel to the furnishings. I always liked this stuff, I just couldn't afford it. While with all the glass it did lack privacy, I would come to find that wasn't necessary, it was a new way of life, and I had better just get used to it.

"Please step over here, Michael. I will show you how to use the replicator."

"Wait!, Olaf, let me take a stab at this."

"Tea, earl grey, 85 degrees celsius." A cup materialized in the cubby with the tea.

"I believe this device was in one of your science fiction works, and thus you knew how to operate it?"

"Very perceptive, Olaf. You're pretty good at this human interaction stuff."

"That's why I was assigned to you, Michael." Hmm, pretty good tea. I'm gonna' have a field day with this thing.

"Michael, can we please go the the hygiene room?"

"You mean the bathroom?, what do I need to know about in there?, oh wait, let me guess. Toilet paper isn't something we do here?"

"You are very perceptive, Michael, for a human."

"Touche, Mr. Robot Ball, touche."

"We have one more thing to attend to, then I shall retire for the evening."

Olaf led me to a back room. It was devoid of any furnishings and had several containers in it.

"Go ahead, Michael, open one." The lid lifted right off. Holy Shit! They brought my stuff!

"We brought back some things that you deemed of value, however, we did not get it all."

"That's fine, my love for material goods has gone down drastically recently." My records, and some of my stereo equipment. Wait a minute, this stuff requires electricity, that matches the equipment, and I'm not seeing any outlets.

"Olaf, what am I going to plug this stuff into?"

"What are your requirements?"

"One hundred and fifteen volts, alternating current, at sixty cycles per second, with a sinusoidal waveform."

"May I see one of your devices power couplings?"

I showed him a plug. He scanned it with a light beam.

"I will have a power pack here tomorrow, will that be sufficiently soon?"

"Yes, Olaf, It'll take some time to set all this up."

"I have to admit, Michael, I'm very curious to see this all work."

"That goes for me as well, Olaf."

How many people have set up a turntable on an alien spacecraft before?

"I will be shutting off for the evening, if you need anything, just say my name. Good night, Michael, sleep well."

"Good night, Olaf."

I decided to go out on the front veranda, the ship had almost completely turned out of the starlight. The sound was just incredible. It would echo off the hull, giving the place a cathedral like reverberation. Crickets, they brought crickets aboard. Hopefully they left the mosquitoes on Earth.

Earth, my home. What was it like back there now? Did the power ever come back? The Earth depended on the internet to survive, if it and the power were gone, millions of people would die. But Olaf said I was out for a year. Earth is hundreds of light years behind us. The sun is an insignificant dot in the nighttime sky, I'll never see it again.

I never felt more alone...


	4. Setting Up

Another morning... Location?, somewhere in the Milky Way galaxy. That is all I'd know about my whereabouts for the next five years. I started the day by unpacking all the audio equipment and bringing it out to the living room, I sure hope they got all the cables, finding a patch cord near Betelgeuse may prove difficult.

Solitude is something I'd grown accustom to on Earth. But I did have a companion of sorts, Olaf. I still can't for the life of me figure out why he picked that name, even if I thought about Frozen as often as I did. I could now leave that life behind, I was getting a fresh start. I just hope they saw fit to have a mate for me, maybe they picked out someone for me like a profile from a dating site.

I always hated the idea of those places, I wanted to accidentally bump into the love of my life. I remember the woman I ran into when I was in line at the cable company to turn in all my TV crap and tell them where to cram it. She was a vision of middle age beauty, with emerald green toe nails. She was doing the same thing, and I couldn't resist starting a conversation with her. Of course she used the dreaded 'we' word, but I expected her to be married. She was one of the good ones. Still,... she was a delight to talk to, and at least I tried, baby steps.

I spent the better part of three hours setting up my two stereo systems. One was designed for hard core rocking out, and the other was designed for late evening sessions with jazz or classical. One thing I hadn't considered until this point was the loud system was designed for my aging ears, I wondered what it'll sound like now that I have the ears of a two year old?

"Michael, the power pack will be here within minutes."

"Thanks Olaf. But how will it get here?"

"That way." I looked outside to see a simple rectangular shape that looked like a long tombstone land in the yard. I walked outside and as I approached the vessel the shield went down on it. On the platform was what looked like a power strip with no cord, and eight outlets that looked very normal, like it was purchased on Amazon, bet they wished they had some of these delivery platforms. Oh wait,... I bet Amazon is a distant memory for folks on Earth right now, and they'd be happy to just not starve.

So I plugged everything in and took a deep breath. If something broke there would be no repairing it out here, or so I thought.

"Michael, if you don't mind, I'd like to hear the electron beam vacuum equipped system first, and I'd also like to deep scan everything."

"Knock yourself out, Olaf" I think he knew what that meant.

So I put some Coltrane on the tube system, turned on all the switches, and waited for the warm up. All the tubes lit up, that was a good sign. I set the needle in the groove and sweet music came forth. At least I'd have something to do, I haven't heard this stuff in a while.

Olaf seemed fascinated, well as fascinated as a metal ball could appear, anyhow. His laser scanners pored over every millimeter. For him this would be like unearthing some ancient dinosaur.

"Olaf, can those beams penetrate to the interior?"

"Yes, I'm recording all aspects of it's diagrammatic content and layout, plus measuring all voltages, currents, and frequency responses."

"Good, hopefully you can manufacture parts if anything breaks."

"By the results of this scan it should be possible." Well, that's a relief. I don't think there's a Radio Shack within twelve parsecs of here.

Something had been gnawing at me all day, so I just blurted it out.

"Olaf, Ive been wondering. Since my body has been rejuvenated, what's my life expectancy?"

The dreaded pause; "Approximately two hundred and fifty years."

"WAIT, WHAT?!"

"Like I eluded to earlier, Michael, your DNA is easily manipulated and repaired, there is some logic to our decision on picking your race."

Holy shit!, not only did I stumble onto the fountain of youth, I'd get thrown immortality in as a bonus. Yea, I know two hundred and fifty years isn't immortal, but who the fuck wants to live forever.

All good things come to an end, all.

So we got our fill of the laid back stuff, it was time to crank up the 'Sand System' and rock out. So I picked the hairiest Hair Metal eighties record I had and set the volume to eleven. Olaf went up to every driver in the cabinets and checked each one out. I could tell the difference in my hearing, what once was loud is now ear splitting. I only listened to a couple of songs that way, I just got these ears fixed, and now they had to last another two hundred and thirty years.

"So, Olaf, what do you think?"

"These relics are amazing, Michael. But from what I gather from your database, loud music fell out of favor."

"That's true, Olaf. This was the stuff of old people." When I was young we went to rock concerts that were twice as loud as this gear. We were the rebels, and old people didn't understand why we needed it so loud. But loud music is visceral, you can feel it, and in my older age, that helped, I think I was hearing at lot though my body that my ears could no longer catch. It saddened me that the bonding experience of twenty thousand people starring down fifty thousand watts of audio gear to get blasted out in a drug hazed orgy of sound would be something of the past, we thought it would last forever, but...

All good things come to an end, all.

Over the next few days I finished unpacking what little was left of my life. My laptop was here, but Googling anything was going to be difficult.

"No internet connection available." Yea, no shit. Still, my stories were there, so I could at least read those, and I guess traveling on an alien spaceship across the galaxy should provide some ideas for my muse. but for now, I should just do a journal. Tools. Hmmm, I wonder why they got those. With replicators, what was there to build? At the bottom of the last one, they had slipped in the one remaining piece of my Frozen collection. It was a solid plastic figurine of Anna, in her coronation day dress. Oh, how I had longed to dance and twirl with her in that ballroom.

Really I wanted to learn ballroom dancing anyway. The idea of getting dressed up in fancy clothes, and spending an evening with the one you love face to face, holding each other and spinning about had fascinated me forever. Society had other plans and this activity had fallen out of favor. Now it was just considered 'gay'.

All good things come to an end, all.

I took out my laptop, went to the veranda, and popped it open.

I starred at the blank screen and nothing would come. Anna was the driving force of my writing, it looks as though those days are over. I really needed to start over, this tremendous gift had been handed to me. But as I sit here starring out over this breathtaking landscape I have to wonder what's in store for me? What will this new chapter in life be like, and who will I do it with? Within a week I would find out, and it would be the shock of my life.

All good thi..., screw that. This is a beginning.


	5. Meet the Real Anna

_A/N,_

 _It's time for the star of the show to make her bizarre entrance. Have you ever reworked a chapter so many times you feel like you've wrecked it? This one does for me. I've made at least 20 changes since I first wrote it. And I'm still not happy with it.  
_

 _As a bonus, I've combined the next chapter into this one, marking the longest chapter I've ever submitted to FF. On with the show..._

* * *

I was just nodding off to a blissful afternoon nap when the door swung open, my heart leapt in to my throat...

"Hi, honey!, I'm home!"

"Aghh!, what are you?!"

"What do you mean, 'What are you?' I'm your girlfriend, silly! Don't you recognize me?"

My God!, what is this thing?, she looked exactly like Anna, yea, that Anna. And I mean, exactly like Anna. What did these crazy aliens do? Why her? She was positively creepy looking in real life, her eyes were the size of cue balls, she had this tiny button of a nose that barely worked as she started to breath heavy.

"Are you real?"

"Of course I'm real, silly, just touch me." She held out her hand to me, but my only instinct was to recoil away from her, then I ran out of space.

"You don't like me?"

"No Anna, I mean,... that is your name, right? It's just the fact that you shouldn't exist."

"You... don't.. want me...then?" Tears were welling up in her eyes, it looks as though I've offended her somehow. But that's just it. I didn't know if she was a robot, or some radically altered human, or even one of them. Her appearance was absolutely shocking, I mean, animated characters shouldn't walk up to you in the flesh. She then burst through the door and took off running. Her white dress flowing behind her. Oh, shit, now what have I done?, guess I better go find her. I do care about her well being, don't I? She's the first 'human' contact I've had on this ship.

I found her down by the lake on a bench drowning in a pool of her own tears. I felt terrible. Oh crap!, this may be some kind of test. Those tricky bastards! They send me the one 'woman' that I couldn't possibly resist falling in love with, then I'm supposed to comfort her and assure her everything is OK. Fine, they win this round. So I took a seat beside her with my hands folded into my lap, I was still leary of touching her.

"Anna, I'm sorry. I don't reject you, but you have to understand, your appearance is very bizarre to me. You're supposed to be a fictional animated character from a movie, you shouldn't be here right now."

"But they made me for you! You are all I have. I can love no other, ever."

"Anna, what did you expect when you walked through my door?"

"I expected you to give me a hug and say, 'I love you!'"

"Anna, it's just not that easy." She was planted with memories, most likely with some of mine. Apparently they were very selective with what they put in there. Maybe they wanted her to grow, and come up with her own individuality. Either way, they did make some mistakes, they certainly misjudged me, now this poor girl is miserable.

But misery is an emotion, and I find it touching she feels so strongly about me, even if it is misguided.

I took her hands and looked into her eyes. My God, her hands were soft, but this was going to take some getting used to. Her pupils were so large that in certain light I could see the veins on her retinas.

Those eyes. I've always had a thing for eyes, I really liked them in the movie, but then everyone else in the film had big eyes. So Elsa and Anna kinda' blended in. As a living being and presented to me in person however, my brain goes with fear. The impossible has happened again, just like this place. I must calm down. See her for what she is. We're on a spaceship, crazy things are going to pop up every now and again. This is flat out insane, but I'm going to give her a chance, no matter what.

"Look, there will come a day when I'll look at you just like this,... and say 'I love you', in fact, I'm certain of it. I cannot help but fall in love with you. But today is not that day."

"I think I understand. I'm kinda' new to this whole being alive thing."

She was like a child, with just enough mental faculties to get her into trouble.

What have I got myself into? I spent a lifetime fantasizing about space travel, and leaving that God-forsaken rock behind. Now I'm on this space ark headed to a fresh, brand new world, charged with building the next Garden of Eden, with the most beautiful yet bizarre woman I've ever laid eyes on, and I still manage to screw it up.

"Why don't we take a walk around the lake, and you can tell me what they planted into that head of yours."

"I'd love to." And with that I took her hand and we walked along the trail. Creatures of all sorts were out and about, going about their lives without a care. They just had to make sure they had enough to eat. Shelter wasn't a problem, well, at least not now. That would change sometime in the future.

"OK, Anna, start at the beginning. What are your earliest memories?"

"Me and my sister are in our room, and there are pretty colors shining thru the windows. It's the middle of the night and I can't sleep. I said something to the effect of wanting to build a snowman?" I just started laughing, she was implanted with my memories from the movie, as if they were real.

"What's so funny?"

"Um, you!, those memories are from the movie that you are based on."

"So all those things never happened?, my parents death?, my sister ignoring me? 'L' something..."

"Elsa, your sisters' name was Elsa."

"We lived in a castle, I was a princess! Elsa became Queen, then something bad happened, but it gets fuzzy after that."

"Ugh,.. yes, that's what you were, in the movie. You are not a real princess, although you certainly look like one." She smiled a bit at the fact that I gave her a complement.

"What was it in a princess movie that you were so attracted to?"

"The answer to that is more mysterious than this ship we're on. I really don't know. I watched it just to see what all the fuss was about. I was really in love with that animation style, and this movie got so much attention.

I started watching it and was just floored, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. About every ten years or so, I see a movie that just wrecks my life, and this was one of them. Olaf told me that this movie was my most dominant thought, and it's true, Frozen was an obsession, and those are very dangerous to one's sanity."

"Olaf, you mean the snowman?, is he here?"

"Sort of, he's a round metal ball that is the go-between for us and the beings who created you."

"So where do I fit into all this?" Now she's asking all the questions. Curiosity, there may be hope for her yet. Curiosity is a sign of intelligence.

"As a character, I was in love with you. You were brave, and impetuous. You had this youthful vivaciousness that was just infectious. You were warm and caring, and just plain irresistible. Your sister struck you with her magic, and you slowly froze to death, and in your last gasp, you sacrificed yourself to save your sister. I just couldn't get over what a powerful statement that was. They must've thought you'd be the perfect mate for me."

"Why can't I remember that?"

"I don't know, it was a big part of why I was so enamored of you. Maybe because the chance of you meeting your sister is near zero, unless some other person on this Ark is as wacko as me."

"Oh, stop it!" Then she hit me in the arm somewhat playfully.

It was all so nuts. I sometimes wonder if I'm dying, and this is just some fantasy my mind is creating to ease the pain of death. I remember getting sucked into the ship, maybe we're just being slowly roasted for some alien banquet, and they just stopped at Earth for some groceries.

"Anything else in there?"

"Yea, going to school, and learning stuff, English, math, history, and... welding?"

"Ha, those are definitely my memories." They used my education to give her the basics, that seemed very resourceful.

"There was something about being put in a closet at recess, and writing stories? Something about a lion?"

"Wow, thanks for dredging that one up, his name was Leo." She let out this adorable little giggle, at least they got that right.

"That was the doing of my seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. Stokes. I thought she was a miserable witch for doing that. It took me a few decades to figure out she was just trying to help me, and that she thought I had potential. Most teachers don't care enough to go thru that much effort for just one pupil."

"I see that now." This was just weird. Anna was just an infant, and they needed something to put her together with, so she could function like an adult, but her brain was a scramble of mixed memories. I just hope I don't wake up one morning with her standing over me with a butcher knife just before she plunges it in.

"We should head back, we're not even supposed to be out here yet."

"Are you gonna' follow all the rules, silly?" The impetuous child comes out again.

"Let's go, Anna." I put some forcefulness in my voice, let's she how she responds to that.

"OK, but it's so pretty out here." She kinda' hung her head down, sulking.

"Yes, it is. But we have no idea how our 'benefactors' will react, and I'm not willing to find out."

"I'm getting hungry anyhow, how's about us getting something to eat?"

"I am feeling a bit peckish, great idea." And with that, we headed back to the domicile.

* * *

On the way back she ran out in front of me to chase some ducks. Well, at least I thought they were ducks. If it walks like a duck, and squawks like a duck, it's a duck. Just ones I've never seen before. She was laughing and giggling the whole time, practically dancing as she moved, she looked so light on her feet, while waving her arms about. She was truly enjoying life. It was easy to see she could make me very happy, a woman like her fulfilled my every fantasy.

But that's just it, that dreaded word fantasy. I had been brought up to crush down every dream I've ever had. "You have to work very hard at a real job, or you'll never amount to anything." My mom always used to say. She was a dream killer. In my youth, I always wanted to learn a musical instrument, but was always told no. "Your brother blew into a horn three times then quit, it was a waste of money." And that was it, I didn't get the chance because of something my brother did decades ago. I wonder if that memory is in her head.

It looks as though I've been given a second lease on life. I hope we have some musicians on board who are teachers, with my rebuilt nervous system, maybe now I can learn to play.

One thing's for sure, we've got time on our hands.

And I'm no longer alone...

* * *

After we got back, I went to the replicator and rustled up some sandwiches and some tea. I felt like having some coffee, but at the moment, I didn't want Anna touching the stuff. That girl would be gettin' decaf everything from here on out. Besides, we had plenty of energy, our bodies, and this place, it was just so full of life. The need for artificial stimulants seemed so unnecessary now.

She devoured that sandwich with gusto, like it was the best thing she had ever tasted.

"Is that your first sandwich?"

"It's my first time eating anything." No wonder she ate like that, it would be like a first sexual experience.

"Can I have another?" I had to laugh. Yea, just like sex.

"Yes, you certainly can." My God, she is just so adorable. When she was finished, she laid back on the couch with her feet plopped into my lap. Her tiny, tiny bare feet. They were a bit wider than in the movie, physics being what they are. If they were actually the size they were in the movie, every step would result in a broken bone. Having a full stomach for the first time slowed her up a bit, and she certainly was comfortable with me.

Then I noticed her skin. I really hadn't paid that much attention before. Like a baby's, it was absolutely flawless. I slowly ran my fingers up her leg, it was like velvet. Her DNA had only replicated a few times, and it showed. She was as fresh as newly fallen snow, how could I possibly resist her? By the time I got to her knee, she was practically purring, like a kitten. I had completely lost track of what I was doing, I was just taken aback by her perfection, and I wasn't trying to stimulate her. She wasn't seeing it that way, however. I jerked my hand back once I came to my senses.

"You don't have to stop."

"Yes, I do, Anna."

"But why?, I was enjoying it."

"So was I, but just a little too much. Let's not rush into anything just yet."

"I really don't get you right now, Michael. Don't you find me desirable?"

"Of course I do, but that's the point. I can't help but find you desirable, it's just all too easy. All this stuff has just been handed to me on a silver platter. Life isn't supposed to be this way. It's supposed to be hard, and gritty, Love is supposed to be difficult and challenging. When I touched you, you should have pulled your legs back, smacked my hands, and told me to keep my dick beaters to myself!"

"That's not our reality right now, Michael. We are here,... I'm here, with you. This is our life now, can't you just enjoy it?"

Out of the mouths of babes, she was right. But it just goes against the grain of every fiber of my being. Maybe this conflict is some quality the Masters were looking for, I honestly don't know.

"Yes Anna, you're right, but you are just going to have to be patient, this is not easy for me, and I'm not programmed like you are." I knew as soon as the words left my tongue it was a mistake. She just kicked me and ran upstairs in a huff.

That's the spirit, Anna. I was starting to like her more already. I let her stew in her own juices for a while, then I went upstairs to find her on the front veranda with that frumpy look on her face that's she so famous for.

"Look, Anna, I'm sorry. We are getting off to a rough start. Just please understand this, I've been doin' the loner gig for a long time, and I've wrecked every relationship I've ever had. After a time, I finally threw in the towel, and just gave up. Now all this has happened, and for me, it was in the course of a week. Please just be patient with me, we will find a way to make this work somehow, I promise."

"Then please understand me, I can't help but feel this way. It's just like you said, I've been programmed. But it doesn't feel that way. I have memories of you. To me, it feels like I've shared my life with yours, like we were childhood sweethearts. So when you reject me, it's like you're rejecting a lifelong lover, do you understand where I'm coming from now?"

Shit! Why didn't I see this before? This is like Anna knocking on her sisters' door, begging her to come out and play with her. She is experiencing those feelings again, why in the hell didn't I see this? How many times have I seen that damn film? That stuff is in her head somewhere, maybe it's a good idea to go over the whole film and see what she does remember.

"Anna,... come downstairs, there's something I want to share with you."

* * *

So I went thru my record collection, pulled the album out and handed it to her.

"Aghhh, it's me!, and Elsa, Sven, and Christopher."

"It's Kristoff!" It took a minute for me to stop laughing.

"Go ahead, put it on."

She knew exactly how to handle the record, and turn everything on. The first song she didn't recognize. But when 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman?' came on...

Back to the waterworks.

Side one came to an end, and was clicking in the deadwax. She was unable to move.

"Can you flip it for me?" She was just starring into space. It's amazing how music can affect your recall of memories, even if they are not real.

The record came to an end, and she had just zoned out. I hope this isn't damaging her psyche somehow.

"Do you want to hear the whole story?"

"Yes."

So I recited the whole thing. I knew every line in that movie front to back. Her stunned amazement matched my own, we were on the same wavelength on how we felt about this story. Whether this is a good or bad thing, I don't know. Time will tell.

"So I did all that to save my sister?"

"Yes, Anna, you had to fight very hard for her."

"I sacrificed my own life for love?"

"Exactly, now do you see? You fought to the death for love, and in the end, it was so much more rewarding. And as a bonus, you saving your sister saved Arendelle, you were a hero."

"Hans and I went a little too fast, didn't we?"

"Uh huh, then what happened?"

"He betrayed me, and left me to die."

"What did you learn from that?"

"That maybe taking it slow, like me and Kristoff did will work out better. Wait-what? I had two love interests, kinda' at the same time."

"Yea, Ms. Love Triangle."

"And kids liked that movie?!" She seemed a bit incredulous asking that question.

"I know, right?! I don't think they were getting all the philosophical stuff that movie had to offer."

The fact is, practically no one did. It was just a movie about princesses, and singing. To me it was about sadness, loneliness, death, and sacrifice. About overcoming those things, and the power of love. I had read many peoples opinions about Frozen's simplistic ending, that life is more complicated than that. They're wrong. It is just that simple. Love can cure many things completely. Just learning how to use that power, that's the hard part.

Maybe that's why these aliens picked me. I just saw things differently. I could see through the pretty colors to the raw meaning that a few people saw fit to show, for a few special people to see.

I just had to wonder, why does she remember only certain things? My whole life is probably crammed into that head of hers, yet she can hardly recall any of it. So maybe her brain isn't all silicon chips, and her youth is making things hard to recall. Her thinking process is somewhat strange, but they said they couldn't recreate that, so she thinks like me. Oh, are we in trouble.

"What time is it?"

"About half past late."

"So am I getting the couch?"

"No Anna, I think it'll be fine if you curl up with me."

The fact was this person was not a stranger. She truly was the rib of Adam. In her mind we've always been together, so she had no difficulty treating me like a lover. Or an old friend.

I hadn't slept with anyone for nearly a quarter century and didn't quite know what to expect. She just spooned into me like we had been doing this for years. She was warm, and cuddly. Her lavender scent was the best sleep aid nature ever invented, and I found it pretty easy to fall asleep with her there. But nothing is ever perfect, and I knew that tiny nose of hers would be a health hazard, she was a pervasive snorer...

Tomorrow Olaf and I are going to have a looong talk...


	6. Um, Olaf?

"What is it you wish to discuss today, Michael?"

"You know damn well what I want to talk about, Olaf."

"I'm sorry, I do not follow..."

"I'm talkin' about Princess Snoring Beauty in there!" We were out on the front veranda while Anna was still in bed, entangled in the sheets, hair everywhere.

"What about her?, isn't she everything you ever wanted?" Just then she let out a loud snore, while a flock of birds flew out of the tree beside her window.

"Yes, she is the embodiment of all my fantasies, Olaf. But they're just fantasies, and I happen to live in the real world."

"Then Michael, I suggest you take a look around, does any of this look like the 'real world' to you? We're giving you a second life, Michael. Giving. All we expect in return is a chance of new life on our new world. Is that so much to ask? We picked two hundred and fifty of you out of nearly seven billion, most of which are now doomed to extinction. You Michael, we picked you.

In your mind, she is the love of your life.

On Earth, she was a complete impossibility, yet within a few meters of us, lies a living, breathing, albeit loud creature which is everything you ever wanted in a female, what could you possibly dislike about this?"

"That's the point Olaf, it's just too easy. Part of the human condition is struggle. We fought our way to the top of the evolutionary chain on Earth by smashing and clawing our way there. She just waltzes in the door yesterday and says; 'Hi Honey, I love you!' Then I see her face, she was a complete surprise that I just wasn't ready for."

"We thought you might have enjoyed the surprise. She was to be your Eve."

"In a way it's a good thing really, being that wrong makes you fallible. I guess your not God after all."

"Even a God can make a mistake, Michael." Hmmm, didn't see that coming. I had to wonder if God truly was on the other side of that shield wall. But there would be no finding out. With their ability to read minds, it's impossible to form any plans for a coup, and why would I? I should really learn to just roll with it.

"Alright, Olaf. Maybe I've been a little hasty in my judgement, can you at least try to keep me informed of radical alterations of my lifestyle from here on out?"

"I apologize Michael, it was never our intention to frighten or enrage you. Sometimes humans are hard to read,... we dropped the ball on this one."

"Good earth metaphor there, Olaf."

"Thank you, I've been studying. Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

"Well, she does seem to have a lot of me in her, yet she's still quite effeminate, where does that come from?"

"Do you remember the blue haired girl from your dream you had several years ago?"

"There's no way I'll ever forget that."

I can still picture 'her'. I was looking in a mirror and saw a teen aged girl with blue hair in it. I woke up the instant I realized it was me, breathing hard and covered in sweat. It was 4:00 in the morning when I woke up and I damn sure didn't get back to sleep.

"That girl still lives in your deep subconscious."

"WHAT?!, that means I have a multiple personality disorder! I thought I was a little nuts, but this rubber room stuff here, Olaf!"

"Actually, all humans have multiple personalities, so you're in good company. Your brains have developed a way to bury these personalities very deep so they don't cause confusion in your lives, but they can surface if they're crafty enough.

All humans on board this vessel certainly have them. It's part of how we created your mates."

I was now feeling ill, just knowing that thing is in there waiting to send me to Crazytown makes me wanna' puke. The thought of some poor girl trapped in the prison of my subconscious makes me feel pity for her. I'm sorry, blue-haired girl, wherever you are in there. Maybe being manifested in Anna was her avenue of escape, I certainly hope so.

"Thanks for the total bum-out, Olaf. I got one other thing, and well, yea, this is kinda' embarrassing, really. But I think it would be in our best interest if we had some, ya' know,... protection?"

He did his hesitation thing again. "You mean for the prevention of fertilization?"

"Um, yes Olaf... That."

"You need not be concerned about that. Her reproductive system has not been activated yet."

"You will inform me when that happens, right Olaf? No more surprises?"

"Of course, Michael. Will that be all?"

"Yes, Olaf."

"Very well." Then he flew to his hole. Just then Anna started to stir. With a big stretchy yawn she came out onto the veranda and gave me a sleepy hug while I looked out over the railing into the Habitat. It would be our first full day together, and our schedule was empty. I really didn't know what to expect today, I just knew it wouldn't be as chaotic as yesterday.

* * *

Olaf's words weighed heavy on my mind; 'doomed to extinction'. They may have permanently killed the power, just to accelerate the death of a dying world. For years I preached that the Apocalypse was coming, and now I've escaped it,... but it takes away the satisfaction of me being able to say 'I told you so!'

Now I'm in Heaven with an angel at my side, while the Earth goes down in flames.

Out of the ashes a new world would rise. Without humans in the way, Earth stood a chance. In ten thousand years, any evidence of our existence would be gone...


	7. That First Day

Our first day turned into a bit of a bore. The Habitat was not yet open for business, so exploring was out for the moment. "Hmmm, I got an idea." I got some real long speaker wires out of storage, and brought my little speakers up to the veranda. We sat there listening to seventies soft rock, while observing the creatures in the habitat. The occasional glimpse of some predatory bird relieving some small creature of the mortal coil.

This place was so full of life, it was like Discovery Channel Live. One strange thing that puzzled me was the blue sky. The large hexagonally shaped sky panels seemed to have added an extra touch of blue to the sky as if they were neon lights, it may be some type of colored force-field. Another odd but really neat feature of the Habitat was it's bowl-like shape. This was most likely done to accommodate water flow, but it made viewing the entire Habitat easy, kinda' like looking across a valley.

"It looks like there are horses out there." Said Anna, a slight quiver of excitement in her voice.

"Where?, I don't see any."

"By the far left side of the lake, about eight hundred meters back from the shore, in that meadow with the willow trees."

Holy shit!, the part of the lake she was referring to was at least two kilometers from here, I saw a few dots moving where she was describing, and I had perfect twenty/twenty vision. Then I looked her in the eyes, those big gigantic binoculars for eyes.

"My God, Anna, just how good can you see?" She starts describing the pedals on flowers that are a click away. So googly eyes has a purpose. She would be a monster of a hunter, but I'm gonna' bet our benefactors would frown upon us shooting up the place, and so would I in a way. But hunting becomes important if the population of the animals gets out of control.

The horses did get Anna's attention, and then the memory came back.

"Kjekk, my horses' name was Kjekk." She had heard me describe her trip up the North Mountain, but I never said his name,...Now I remember, that was from a book I read. It was the closest thing to an adult read for Frozen. Other than that one title, it was all coloring books and kid stories, ugh... Sometimes this stuff is really embarrassing.

"I can't take this any more, I gotta' explore."

"Anna wait, I don't think that's..." She was halfway down the stairs. "Damn!",...she's all Anna all right.

"Boots, hiking, lace up, traction sole."

"Please place your feet on the ottoman within one meter of the replicator cubby." Anna stuck her feet up there and a beam scanned them.

"Your size has been recorded. Any additional requests?"

"Hiking apparel, cotton short pants, button up blouse."

"Please state color."

"Green shorts, tan blouse."

"Please stand in front in front of cubby, one meter distance." It scanned her again, and produced the items, she dressed right in front of me. Hmmm, she looked kinda cute in that outfit. What am I saying?, she looked cute in anything.

"Anna, I'd recommend some socks."

"Oh, right." As delicate as her skin was...

"Are you coming?" OK, I'm a glutton for punishment. I went thru the same spiel as Anna did, but I picked a blue shirt and tan pants, we didn't need to look like Raggedy Anna and Andy. Then she was out the back door. I also had the replicator make several short lengths of blue ribbon, I'd hate to get lost today.

I suggested we head for the forest and check out the hull, maybe that would attract the least amount of attention. It was fairly noisy in the forest, but it was thick, and the critters stayed well hidden. As we were walking, a large kaleidoscope of butterflies were making their way through the trees, we stopped to watch them. They had these iridescent purple wings that were about twelve centimeters in span, and they were just beautiful. They filled the sky at one point. That's when a real funny thing happened. Several of them landed on Anna, their wings slowly flapping. She took one into her hand and it just crawled along her fingers. She had it right in her face studying it, with a look of child-like wonder, her mouth hanging slightly open. She must be something special for this to happen, maybe it's her alien DNA, or maybe she just smelled like flowers, she did have that lavender scent.

Either way, the site of this was just mesmerizing. Such intense beauty, it was just crushing me. Then they just flew away, and a broad smile beamed across her face.

We made it to near the hull. It was darker here, as the sky panels didn't reach down this far. There was a grassy border between the forest and the hull. It consisted of just dull brown cladding, not a blinking light to be seen. As soon as I stepped out of the forest;

"Please turn back, you are not permitted here." Then an orb that looked like Olaf came rushing up to us.

"Oh, sorry. We've been bitten by cabin fever."

"Please turn back, you are not permitted here." OK, boring conversation anyway.

"Anna, let's head back, I think we've sufficiently skirted the rules for now." Just then Anna stuck her tongue out at the orb and gave it a raspberry. It waited for us to head back into the forest.

As we walked back, it occurred to me what my role would be with her. Mentally, she needed a father. Talk about awkward, we were a breeding pair. Why the hell did they do this, this way? Didn't they know there were taboos about such things? I mean, they did know a lot about us. I assumed they downloaded the entire contents of the internet before they killed it, I'm sure that having father/daughter sex and how horrific that was is in there somewhere. There's just something missing here, I'm not getting it, and I really don't know what questions to ask.

Olaf's answers yesterday seemed somewhat like canned responses. I'm well aware of how much I'm supposed to love her. It's still a very difficult thing for me, as in a way I'm already in love with her. But that is as an imaginary character. I learned to separate the two. You have to, or go insane, those are your only two choices when dealing with this stuff.

Now she's a real live 'human' being. I use that term human very loosely. God only knows what they put in her. If it's anything like her brain, it's a mess. She was a few meters out in front of me, stopping every once in a while to check out some plant, or bug, or whatever else caught her eye. She certainly was a curious thing, a trait I always admired in children. Ugh,...

We got back to an awaiting orb. Uh oh, Dad's mad. Now I feel like the child who got caught sneaking in late. So what's it gonna' be this time?...

"You do not have permission to enter the Habitat yet."

"Sorry, Olaf. Ms. Bouncy Pants here was was having a case of cabin fever."

"Hey!" then she slugged me in the arm.

"We are still preparing the predators who roam the Habitat. There are several forms of what you call 'big cats' in this area, along with a species of bear. Do you understand why we want you to stay close to your domicile now?"

"Well since you put it that way,... just keep in mind that we have issues being treated like prisoners, Olaf."

"I can assure you that is the furthest thing from our desires. Please give us a few more days to get this situation under control." These people had at least a year to 'get it under control', there's more to this than what they're letting on.

"Alright Olaf, I just hope I don't have to put her on a leash." Got an elbow in the ribs for that one...

So now we're stuck in the house again, and one thing I really miss is reading. We'd have plenty of time for it. My own stories can only carry me so far. Hopefully, someone here had a library as a hobby and that got brought here like my audio stuff.

Once this place is open for business, I'm going to make it a point to make some friends. If everyone here has received the 'gift' of a mate, we're all couples, and that should make things easier. I've always found friendships awkward with married couples, and at my age, that's all there was. But it looks as though we have a couple more days of boredom to suffer through, although I myself loved boredom occasionally, I've worked for the last forty plus years, I'm ready for a break. But Anna was just a little kid in the restaurant, squirming like a worm at the end of a hook. The internal age difference definitely showed.

We would be freed soon I hoped.


	8. Space Friends

A/N,

 _OK, this is where things get dicey. My knowledge of Muslim culture could be summed up in one short paragraph. However, I did do some research for my new characters, Minoo and Abzari. Both of their accounts in this story are fictionalized, so don't go looking for info on who they are. While I did borrow some things from history, there's little factual info here. Due to abysmal readership once again, I feel countless hours trying to get every detail right isn't worth the effort._

 _Hopefully I didn't completely blow it._

 _As a side note, Disney has officially announced Frozen 2's release date, 11/27/2019! I can't wait!_

* * *

"Anna and Michael, I have good news. The Habitat has been cleared. However, the edges and the shield wall are considered forbidden territory. Please do not approach these areas."

"Fair enough, Olaf. Oh,... and another thing. I think it would be a good idea if we got to meet the other earthlings and,.. um,..."

"Michael!"

"I'm sorry Anna. But I just don't know what to call you." I felt bad, but the simple fact is she's not exactly human, and she's not from Earth.

Olaf suggested; "What about 'Hybrids'?"

"Hmmm, That's close, Olaf, but a little dry. OK, what about Hy- _brides_?" At this suggestion, Anna's eye's were beaming. She may not be all human, but the girly-girl came roaring out at the prospect of a wedding.

"Really Michael?!, you want me to be your bride?! Oh, I could have a long white dress, and one hundred thousand flowers, and the entire population of the Habitat could be there, but who would give me away? And food, and what about the cake?..."

I had my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. The runaway train was screaming down the tracks at full throttle.

"Anna, please, one hundred things at a time. Still,... I like the name, and the truth is, we will all want to get married at some point if things go well."

Anna stood there bouncing, clapping her hands rapidly at a close distance to her chest. I had to admit I liked her enthusiasm for this prospect, I will some day want to see that face walking up the isle.

"I will confer with the other assistance's Michael, and we will set something up. There is a lodge hall near the lake on the far shore, you can meet there."

"OK, Olaf, Anna and I are gonna' go find something to... Hey, I've got an idea, why don't we go for a run?"

I was up for some physical activity after being cooped up in here, and Ms. Ants in the Pants burning off some of that over abundance of energy seemed like a great idea. Besides, I'm not letting this rock hard body of mine turn to shit again, ever. so we walked up to the replicator and stated we wanted running attire, when it asked us; "Please state type of material", we looked each other in the eye and said it in unison;

"Spandex!"

We both looked good, and when we stepped out we were determined to show it off. In her body glove running suit, it showed her every curve, and I mean every curve. Now I've never been much for breasts, and she didn't really have much. In fact, she looked slightly lighter in the cups than in the movie. But her hips were a touch wider. I figured this was something the masters had engineered in her. They wanted a baby factory, and her hips were designed for it, which made me wonder about her birth canal.

I'll let that be a mystery for a little while longer, it's been ages for me, and I'm in no rush.

* * *

So we stretched out for a few minutes before taking off. Which would bring another round of arousal for me as she was quite limber. Then it was out the door, freedom at last. At least a little, Olaf was following us, but staying out of sight. I was all for this. If we got into trouble he could rescue us, as we were in unfamiliar territory.

"So, Anna, do you remember anything else about your horse?"

"Only that I couldn't take him beyond the gate, and my mother..." She did that trail off thing that she always does when something sad gets into her mind. The truth is, these memories would be from a book, and very hazy due to my own visualization of those events. Still, it brought her a touch of sorrow, that is until she saw one again.

"Michael, do you think they would let me tame one?" The excitement in her voice said it all, and I was torn between getting her hopes up or being shot down. But there are a world of possibilities here, and her having a horse, with all that would be required for it's care would be a good energy sink for Ms. Bouncy Pants here.

"We should discuss it with Olaf. But Anna, I strongly suggest that you don't get your hopes up. They may not think it's a good idea, or they could have a thing against domestication. They may also need some convincing, so don't get too discouraged if they say no. You kinda' have a way of making people do things they don't initially want to do. Have patience."

"Oh, it's gonna' be tough to wait, and you already have your hobby."

"That's not fair, Anna. I spent a long time acquiring that gear. Keep in mind I'm still sixty years old, even with this body. Most two month olds don't own horses the last time I checked." Again, the age difference rears it's ugly head. We'll be two hundred years old before this stops being a problem.

The lake was beautiful this close up, and the trail was clean. Which is amazing considering the amount of critters that cross it. It went into a group of trees, and that's when we met them, they were speaking Dari, so I assumed they, or he, or for that fact she, were Muslim. I felt compelled to stop and talk to them, this was our first interactions with other humans, and I did say I wanted to make friends.

"Dry, banana hippy hat Michael." as I held out my hand. "Wait, I don't think that was right. Hello, my name is Michael, and this is Anna." This caused them to have a slight chuckle, I hadn't used this new language yet, and apparently needed some practice. They were both starring at Anna intensely studying her strange features.

"I'm Abzari, and this is my soon to be bride, Minoo."

"Without me being too forward, which one of you is the Earthling?" I said. They both looked human, there was no problem making that distinction on my side.

"That would be me", Abzari said. "I was a doctor in Afghanistan."

"I was a welder in Nebraska."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness." Said Abzari to Anna while giving her a slight bow. I snickered, while Minoo had a puzzled look on her face. Abzari said something in Dari and they both started laughing. Anna had a look of being embarrassed, her face brightly flushed.

"My apologies, Anna. I could not resist. You are quite famous." This is something that would repeat often when dealing with other members of the Habitat. There's nothing I could do, I didn't choose her. But if I was given the choice, I would have picked her anyway, knowing how my brain worked.

"Abzari, you and Minoo are welcome to our house any time. We are interested in making as many friends here as possible." Also he was a doctor, a very useful person to help solve some of these mysteries.

"Thank you, but how do we find you?" That was a good question. Our houses didn't have numbers. That would be something I would like to change. We are going to have to organize somehow, but I dreaded the idea of hierarchy.

"Anna, would you like to do the honors?" She stepped over to the clearing; "It's that way." She pointed, our house was a dot. "Do you see it, Abzari?"

"Yes, I think." I then piped up.

"It's an all glass front, ski cottage type of affair."

"Oh, yes, we are practically neighbors."

"So, we'll see you around sometime?"

"Most assuredly, neighbor."

"Alright, Minoo, Abzari, talk to you later."

"Good day, Mike and Anna."

* * *

We finished up our run and flopped on the couch, Anna kicking her shoes across the room, she certainly had an aversion to the things, must be a little bit of Rapunzle in there.

"They seemed nice, but is everyone going to think I'm a princess?"

"Yes, Frozen is worldwide famous. They translated it into dozens of languages."

"I don't think I can live up to that title." As she put her stinky feet where I normally placed my food.

She was perpetually Anna.

"The trepidation surrounding you will die down once they get to know you."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh, sorry. That wasn't meant to be derogatory. They will treat you like an ordinary person,.. I mean, in the best way." her lip was stuck out in her typical pout, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. Went right over her head.

"Dibs on the shower!" She beat me to this every time.

I was glad our first encounter with people of the Habitat went somewhat smoothly, but Anna's freakish looks may prove to be too much for some, and we were just going to have to deal with it...


	9. After the Fall

_A/N,_

 _Apparrently I've been putting people asleep. It's time for the story to pick up the pace._

Anna was getting into the habit of going outside by herself. I was always in favor of her doing this, I wanted her to be independent. She had loads of energy and she just needed to expel it. But her mind was still child-like, and she needed to go outside and play. While this was adorable, there is always risk...

It was mid afternoon and I was listening to some Roy Eldridge when I heard it. Snap!, Crack!, Thud. Then the screaming started.

I burst through the door nearly knocking it off the hinges. "Anna!, where are..." I didn't even bother to finish the sentence, I only had to follow the screams.

"I was playing in the tree when the branch snapped, then this happened." Oh my God, her left radius and ulna had broken and were protruding through the skin, and she was bleeding badly.

"Olaf, come quick!"

"Yes, Michael, what is... Oh, dear! Help is on the way."

I got to her side, whipped off my pants gather and wrapped it around her arm to slow the bleeding down. I kissed her on the top of her head and said;

"It'll be alright, I'm sure they can fix this."

"I know silly, they made me from scratch, an arm should be easy!" She said thru clenched teeth, the pain was making it hard for her to breath. I stifled a laugh, this was still serious, even with their technology. Then the 'what ifs' started and I couldn't hold back the tears. I've never been around someone who's been so seriously injured, and I was feeling a little faint. My eyesight started to blur, it was as if I could feel her pain directly.

"Please do not cry for me, I'll be fine, you'll see." Just then a rectangular shape appeared from over the shield wall, flying at great speed, it landed right next to Anna.

Olaf said; "Place her on the gurney, and Anna, lie down and stay perfectly still."

"OK."

I scooped her up as best I could, but every movement had her wincing in pain, tears streaming out of the corners of her eyes. I don't think I've ever experienced a more heart-breaking moment. I placed her as gently as I could manage on the gurney.

Then an arm came out from below and scanned Anna's injury. Another arm with what appeared to be a hose sprayed Anna's broken arm with a quick setting foam, encasing and splinting her arm. Straps crossed over her securing her to the gurney. Before she took off I motioned to the scanner to wait, it appeared to know what I wanted.

I took her good hand, looked her straight in the eye and said; "I love you, and I want you to return to me as soon as possible."

"I have always loved you." She said very weakly, then the shield on the gurney went up, and it took off with such speed that it cracked like thunder.

"Olaf, I want to be able to communicate with her."

"I shall prepare another orb."

"And Olaf, I want her returned to me, don't just make another one and toss her out with the trash. Do you hear me?! If I don't get her back, I'll be able to tell, and I swear, I'll plow this bucket into a star if I don't see her again."

"I'll do what I can, and don't worry Michael, this kind of damage is well within our capability to repair."

"Just see to it that I can speak to her."

"Understood." then Olaf flew away over the shield wall, and I was alone.

I got inside to a record that was clicking away in the deadwax, apparently some time had elapsed. It felt like an eternity, and it was starting to get late, but I just laid there on the couch, starring at the ceiling. I had forgotten to eat, but I couldn't even tell I had a stomach.

They had won. They wanted me to fall in love with her and they succeeded. If this had been on Earth, I'd be right there by her side, trying to comfort her. They don't trust us yet, but I have to trust them, to treat her with dignity, and not like some toaster that you throw away because the cord went bad. Olaf finally returned and said;

"I have communications established, would you like to speak with her?"

"Um, duh, Olaf."

"Go ahead Anna."

"Hey there, Silly Pants! it's me, and I'm alright, well, most of me anywho."

"Thank God!, Anna, you're OK. How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

"Pretty good actually, this thing on my arm where it used be keeps me from feeling anything."

"Um...used to be?"

"That's right, Silly Buns. They just took it off, said the damage was just too great."

"You don't seem that upset." I was ready to pass out at this point.

"Why should I be? They'll just grow another one, but it'll be a couple of weeks before it's ready. They said I can come home tomorrow if I want to, but I'll need some help, and you can just call me 'Stumpy'."

"I can't think of anything else I'd rather do."

"Anything?!"

"Anything. Goodnight my love."

"Goodnight Michael, I love you. End transmission."

I smiled and a tear formed in my eye. Even in tragedy she was warm and sweet,... and funny. Her sing-song voice still lingering in my ears.

Olaf said; "Is there anything else I can do for you Michael?"

"No Olaf, I think you've done quite enough for today."

"I shall take my leave then, goodnight Michael."

"Goodnight Olaf, and thanks again."

"My pleasure." He went into his cubby and powered down. "Lights." then the house went dark, and I could finally rest, what a long day.

"Anna will be arriving within one quarter of an hour, Michael."

"Thank you, Olaf." I could feel the knots twisting in my stomach, I really didn't know what to expect. When I was young, I never even got any stitches. Much less any broken bones. She is still such a child, 'playing in the tree'. What was she thinking? But that's Anna, she wasn't thinking. She was the nine year old child, standing on the back seat of her bicycle, going down a spiral staircase. Bravery is just another form of stupidity. When you're smart, you analyze everything. If I climb this tree, the limb wouln't support my weight, and I'll fall. That's what the logical mind does. All Anna saw was a birds nest, or some pretty leaf that she needed to see up close, and she could've died.

Now I have to be a parent, and scold her for being so careless, when all I wanted to do is give her a hug, and tell her how glad I am that she's still alive. This is such a mess, I was never a parent for a good reason, I would've been lousy at it, now I have to do it with someone who should already be at a more advanced stage of intellectual development.

Second chances. I've been given a second chance on life. To get it right this time, and that's what's going to have to happen with Anna. Maybe I'll use that somehow.

"The shuttle will be landing in the clearing soon, Michael, we should make our way there."

"We?"

"You do not want me to join you?"

"It's OK, Olaf. I'm just messin' with ya." I actually would have liked this to be a private moment. But privacy is non-existent here, and I don't know if Olaf was capable of having feelings for Anna, but he did show concern once he realized what happened yesterday.

As the shuttle approached, she was trying to get the gate open before it touched the ground. Which was proving to be difficult for her, as they had placed her on a left hand sided seat, and it was her left arm that was missing. She favored her left, so I assumed she was a south paw. This will make her life difficult for the next few weeks. As soon as it was down she burst out running up to me and hugged me with what she had, a rather plain looking metal cap over what was left of her arm, they cut it off about fifteen centimeters past the shoulder.

"I missed you so much, Michael."

"I missed you to, Anna, but it's barely been a day." I didn't want to let her go. When she got on that gurney yesterday, I couldn't help but think it would be the last time I'd see her. We walked back to the domicile while I held her hand, her only hand.

"So how was the food?" I just wanted to create some idle banter, anything to strike back the emotions I was feeling at the moment.

"It was awful, basically some goop in a cup, it was supposed to meet all my nutritional requirements, but I needed chocolate!"

"I'll be sure to fix that once we get home." We... home... us... together. We were becoming the start of a family. I almost wish we could have a baby now. But 'Stumpy' still has some growing do to, and she still has to be activated yet, that is something the Masters have control of, and for now, it's probably in our best interest. Especially when the love of your life likes to climbs trees. Speaking of which,...

"When we get back, we need to have a serious talk." I gave her the fatherly voice, I had no idea if I got it right.

"I know, I was careless, and I'm sorry." She at least sounded sincere. But knowing Anna...

"Chocolate chip cookies, six, recipe 1A. Two glasses milk, bovine, 5 degrees Celsius." I set our snacks down on the coffee table, as she reached out for the cookies, my speech stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Now Anna, what you did yesterday was very foolish, and you could've died. What if we didn't have access to this technology? I would have had to cut your arm off myself, how do think I would have felt if I had to do that?" The wheels were turning in her head, and her eyes welled up. She was thinking about the consequences of her actions.

"I'm sorry, I never looked at it that way. I was just doing what I wanted to do."

"That's the thing Anna, actions have consequences, and part of being an adult is thinking about what happens when we do things and there's the possibility of something going wrong.

But I don't want to keep you from being you. Maybe if you want to climb trees, we can come up with some type of safety equipment, like a sling or something. Hey.. I know,... once you have a fully functional arm again, why don't we build a tree house? You'll get your climbing jones satisfied, we'll have a place to go to observe the habitat, and we'll have the fun of building it,... together."

"Really!?, that sounds like fun!, and thanks for understanding me." She slid across the couch to give me a hug and a peck on the cheek, then reached trepidatously for the cookies, seeing if at this point if it was all right.

"Yes, you can now have some cookies." physically, we were the same age, intellectually, we were decades apart. On Earth, we would've been seen as the happy couple. In this reality, I was her father. This had all the trappings of another test. What if something,... or someone broke that branch in that tree? Would they go so far as to hurt her to see how I'd react? I never told her I loved her till yesterday, and honestly, I wasn't sure how I felt, till the thought of her being gone crossed my mind, and how devastated I'd be without her.

They needed a breeding pair. That's what we are. I just hope she matures quickly. The idea of having sex with her is somewhat creepy at this point, but I now have the sex drive that comes with this new body, and with her inability to produce offspring, we could go at it like rabbits with no consequences. Plus the fact that we're most likely mated for life, I can't see any downside to this. Then she looks at me with a milk mustache, chocolate on her face along with a big smile. Ugh,... talk about mixed emotions.


	10. Stumpy

I woke up the next morning before she did, well, I did that every morning. Barely able to contain my emotions with her laying right beside me. Being a side sleeper proved to be difficult for her as the stasis device would dig into her, so she could only lay on her right side. Thank the Maker for this heavenly mattress, it was like laying in a cloud. I ended up switching sides with her to accommodate this, but I would cut my own arm off just to make her more comfortable right now.

I'm kinda' starting to hate the Masters for what they've done, I wonder if they sense that. They've put me in an awkward position. They made her just for me. I cannot refuse her. She contains their DNA, but what does it do? What part is missing that they need us humans for?

Or is it something they can't feel or... Love, of course!, thinking process my ass! They've lost the ability to love, that's what this is all about. But why would they hide that? Would us knowing that fact skew what they wanted to observe? I'm creating more questions than answers.

I will have to grill Abzari when Minoo and him come over, and I do hope they come over. Culturally we're worlds apart, and any similarities between him and me will light a path to an answer to this mystery of why we're here and why us.

Why me?

As humans we often ask ourselves that question, why do we have the cards we've been dealt? Many people get a shitty hand and ask themselves the same question, why me?, as they shout to the heavens in a vain attempt of receiving an answer.

I got one.

But I would have been happy if they just would've fixed Earth, and essentially they did, although I would've just ended my own life, vs slowly starving to death as the world burned.

A Phoenix will rise from the ashes there, which deserves to live, and I would love to see this at it's fruition, but I have a new destiny. With the greatest do-over in human history.

I have been passed the torch.

To make new life, on a new world, in a new way. We've only met one other couple, and they don't possess me as the warrior type. Did the Masters fill this ship with geeks? This goes against nature, it's always the strongest that survive. But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, I want to meet more of our 'guests' on the Ark first, before I start drawing too many conclusions.

Anna finally started to stir. she had rolled over and was looking right at me with her crusty eyes as she first opened them, I wanted to have this image presented to me every day for the next two centuries.

"Umm, how long have you be up?" She could barely form the words.

" 'bout a half hour."

"So you're just layin' here starrin' at the cripple?"

"Don't go there, Anna. That's not what you are to me. The parts I love are here, and here." I pointed to her head and her heart.

"I didn't fall in love with your arm, my tears when you left were for the fact that I had no idea what they'd do to you. They could have just kept you, like a parent who takes away a kids toy for breaking it, I didn't know..." Once again I'd find myself breaking down, damn them for these feelings!

Why me?

She rolled over to hug me, but there was no arm for which to accomplish this simple task.

"Ughhh!, I can't even give you a proper hug!"

"But you just did."

"Huh? your not making any sense."

"You wanting to hug me is ten times more important to me than the act itself."

"Awww." So we scooched around until we could finally position ourselves to embrace, from the outside it must've looked pretty awkward. Ummm, first kiss of the day, my favorite.

So I helped her get dressed and we made our way downstairs to handle breakfast.

"Are we still gonna' go for a run today?"

"I don't see why not, both of your legs still work, unless of course you wish to dance down another tree limb..." She wanted to smack me, but I was sitting on her left side on the couch, and she just ended up waving her nub at me.

"Haha, very funny! But it's gonna' look weird."

"Have you looked in the mirror lately? That just goes with the territory." She got up to slug me for that one.

There were many things I had to help her with that normally I'd just take for granted. Helping get her toothbrush pasted up.

Buttoning her buttons, tying her shoes. Getting her body glove running suit on proved to be quite a chore, and I loved every single second of it. She felt annoyed by all this, and that made me even happier that she was missing her independence. But she would start to see that I was enjoying this for all the right reasons, and she just rolled with it. Life is going to throw you a few curve balls every now and again, even in Utopia. It made me feel like our lives have been 'pre-disastered' and things should go smoothly from here.

That is of course a lie that I tell myself to feel better. There will be plenty of disasters to deal with in the coming years, but as long as we can handle them together, go ahead, throw that sucker as hard as you can.

Olaf popped out of his hole, what will it be this time?

"Michael, Anna, I have been informed that the Zahir's would like to pay a visit, do you accept this offer?"

"Yes, of course, Olaf."

"Excellent, they will be here in one half of an hour."

"Alright Olaf, that will be all." He knew that to be my cue for him to get lost.

"This is kinda' exciting, our first company!" Said Anna.

Ugh,... human interaction. I was so lousy at it in my past life. While the outside got all fixed up on me, that rattling garbage can that was my psyche was untouched.

Second chances, fresh starts. I had to face these things head on. It occurred to me that the couple who was coming to our house was just as alien as those people on the other side of that wall. I was determined to leave the past behind. As an American, I regretted that I was a part of a country where Muslims were completely misunderstood, and even if I wasn't a fan of their ritualism and their treatment of women, I was a fan of faith.

Although my faith was not based on any one religion, I still had some, that's why I'm here, and this is one boat I would've hated to miss.

The knock came at the door, I took a deep breath and opened it.

"Hello, Abzari and Minoo, wouln't you please come in."

"Salutations to you Michael and... Anna! Bismillah!, what happened to you?!"

"Compound fracture of the ulna and radius, and she shattered her elbow. She fell out of a tree."

"And they cut her arm off?!"

"They said the damage was too extensive, and somewhere on the other side of that wall, Anna's new arm is growing,... in a tube."

It looked like he wanted to examine Anna's stasis device, but I knew Muslim men had issues with another man's woman. To me he was a doctor, and I was more than happy for him to check her out. And free to boot!

"May I please examine her arm?" He asked me, but he should be asking Anna. We've got a long way to go...

"Sure. Anna, is this OK with you?" Abzari seemed a bit puzzled at first by me asking Anna's permission, but I bet the wheels are turning in his head. All these social taboos and lifestyles that we've carried around are going to have to get shit canned in order to make this work.

"Knock yourself out, Doc."

"Do you know how this device works?" He seemed absolutely fascinated by it. For a doctor, I guess that makes sense.

"From what Olaf can tell us, the severed end of her arm is in suspended animation, blood flow is rerouted, and it is somehow anchored to the bone. Which is probably a good thing. Blood spraying everywhere would be messy." While Anna was cracking up, the humor was somewhat lost one our friends here. I'm hoping we can change this in time.

Anna in her best British accent blurted out in English; "Tis' merely a flesh wound!" Looks like everyone found this funny.

Ah, Monty Python. The universal language of hilarious.

"Please feel free to use the replicator for refreshments, the tabs on me."

So we chit-chatted about what we have observed so far. Minoo was rather quiet. If she hangs around Anna long enough that'll change, much to Abzari's chagrin.

I remember seeing her face somewhere, but I can't place it. Her eyes were this laser-piercing light grey. I needed to talk to Abzari one on one, and I knew he'd be more comfortable in an all male environment.

"If you ladies will excuse us, I'll be conferring with the Doctor in the Mancave."

Now to find out what Minoo's story is.


	11. What's Up, Doc?

We entered 'The Cave' and I closed the door. The furnishings were rather spartan as I hadn't really done anything in here. There were still a few crates in here that I was using as end tables. I felt that Abzari would be more comfortable in here, and the truth is the Hybrides may be spies. Whether they know it or not.

"Have a seat Abzari, and I'll get right to it as I have several questions for you. First, were you unmarried on Earth?"

"Yes, the woman I was betrothed to in childhood was killed by an abandoned land mine when I was eighteen. Then I was off to college and medical school. I just never found the time to pursue a relationship after that."

A perpetual loner. Hmmm, that sounds familiar. I was getting the feeling I was in for a painful story here.

"When you woke up, describe what was happening and what was different about yourself."

"When I woke up, I was in an all white room. I thought I was in paradise, and I would soon meet Mohammad. I started to call for him, but then the metal orb appeared."

"What did he call himself?"

"Rafiq, a boy I knew from childhood. He was killed by the Russians just before they left."

"I knew you guys had it rough, but damn..."

"All I've know is war, Michael."

"What did they change on your body?"

"I was fifty two years old when they kidnapped me, and now I look like I did when I was eighteen."

Did they fix anything?"

"Yes, I had a bullet wound in my right thigh, it is no longer there."

"Holy crap, Doc. how'd that happen?"

"The wound was from when the Taliban was fighting from the hospital where I worked, it was a stray bullet."

"OK, these questions are more personal in nature, fair warning. Is your penis bigger?"

"What?!, what relevance does tha..."

"Doc, mines about eight centimeters longer. I want to know what we have in common. It may give some clues as to what the aliens are up to."

"Yes, I have been just as curious, and no, it's approximately the same." Gee Doc, too bad. Or maybe he's just already hung.

"When you prayed, what did you pray for?" There was a long pause, apparently I'm in sacred territory.

"I prayed for Mohammad to return and deliver us from that evil."

"OK, Doc, there's some commonality."

"You prayed to Mohammad?"

"Doc, I prayed to anyone who would listen, Jesus, Mohammad, Ganesha, Buddha, I didn't care who. I just wanted someone to come and rescue us, the human race just wasn't gonna' be able to pull it off."

"So, you do not have a singular faith?"

"No, Doc. I'm a bit of an Agnostic."

"I thought this would be the Sacred Barge of the Believers."

"I've never heard that before, that doesn't seem like a Muslim thing."

"It's not, Michael. In the back of my mind, I've felt we may not have gotten everything right in our religion. A long time ago Muslims were the voice of science and reason, living in harmony with those of other faiths. Now a small percentage of us have twisted a once benevolent faith into a bramble of lies, and I wanted that to end. However, I think there's a hidden force behind the evil on the surface, and we'll never know who it was."

"So, do you feel this is the work of the divine?, this vessel has to have shaken your faith somewhat."

"Yes, and sadly, it has."

"Well, hang in there Doc. When I first met Anna, it was a terrifying experience for me."

"I can see why." Everyone is going to view Anna as a freak, ugh...

"Yea, thanks Doc. When I grilled Olaf the next day, I said something to the effect that since they scared me shitless with her, that they got me wrong, and that they couldn't be God, because he is infallible. Then he said and I quote; "Even a God can make a mistake, Michael." That scared the crap out of me. God, or Alah, may very well be on the other side of that wall."

"But Michael, what would Allah need with technology?"

"That's the thing, Abzari. If these beings showed up back then to our ancestors, wouldn't that look like God's magic to them?"

"I will have to contemplate this for a while, Michael."

"No pressure, we've got time, meanwhile, keep praying, Doc. And when you do, I'd point the mat towards the shield wall. OK, what about Minoo? what's her story?"

"She was made famous by the cover of National Geographic."

"I thought I recognized those eyes, that's were I seen her before. OK, so we both have a taste for famous people, what else?"

"She was brutally beaten by the Taliban years later for some weak infraction of dress code. I was the doctor for her recovery."

Holy shit!, is there no end to this man's suffering? Well, maybe now.

"So, did she dominate your thoughts?"

"Yes, I couldn't get the image of her beautiful eyes out my head, and how horribly disfigured the Taliban had left her."

I don't know how much more of this I can do, I'm way out of my element here.

"How is her mental state?, she was rather quiet. I couldn't get a good impression of her."

"At home, she is a somewhat childish, curious creature, and a bit more talkative."

"Well, if she hangs out with Anna long enough, you'll never get her to shut up."

That was good for a laugh, and I hope I broke the tension a little.

"The truth is Doc, we have GOT to make this work. We will have to drop a lot of our former cultural mannerisms. For instance, when you asked to examine Anna's stasis device, you should have asked her. As for me, I have to retrain myself to forget all those shitty stereotype things about Muslims. Were I lived, there was nothing but mistrust, and my personal thinking upheld that mistrust. But since I've been here, I've realized that there would be many cultures represented here, we have to get along, and not just tolerate each other. We have to understand each other, and be friends. We... must... make ...this...work. We'll die out, or fall into those old ways of feudalism if we don't. I for one don't want that."

"You have left me with a lot to think about, Michael. This surprises me considering your background."

"I think I missed my calling."

"You should consider a position of leadership here, you seem to be asking the right questions, and have a vision of our future."

"Leadership from anyone is something we should avoid like the plague."

"Yes, but it will present itself."

I know, and I dread it.

He paused for a second, it now looks like every time somebody does this, I'll end up regretting it.

"I think it's only fair you tell me about Anna."

"OK, Doc, you're right. We have to bear our souls and confess here. I was infatuated with that movie, it just turned me upside down. It was a life changing event. I lost weight. Quit doing some things an old guy shouldn't do. I started to be more sociable, and realized that being alone wasn't for me anymore. But change is hard, and I was taking it one step at a time.

Anna to me was a hero. Her determination to save her sister and Jesus-like sacrifice was inspiring, and in a way, I was in love with her. I tried to keep reality in check, she's a made-up fictional character. But why can't we aspire to be like her? She had many desirable qualities, that's why she's sitting in my living room right now. She was the embodiment of everything I wanted, warmth, a capacity for deep love, kindness, bravery, empathy, intelligence, and spunk. All wrapped in this beautiful shell. Her inner beauty equaled her outer beauty. And not the typical American version of beauty either. I guess that's why everyone was infatuated with her sister.

When I awakened here, I too felt I was dead. When I first seen the Habitat, I had a panic attack, if I would have been my old self, I would have had a heart attack. Then Anna showed up and I panicked again. Frankly, she is freakish, and I didn't know how to act. I feared she was one of them, or some kind of robot. Later that day I found myself running my fingers up her leg, she was positively silky, with skin like a baby. I just keep asking myself over and over, what did I do to deserve this?"

I had to pause for a moment, what I would ask next could be embarrassing.

"By the sounds of your story, Doc, you DID deserve this. When Minoo showed up at your door, from what little I understand your religion, she would be a gift from Mohammad, and you would've welcomed her immediately."

"That's fairly close, Michael, and no, I was expecting seventy-two of them."

That was good for another laugh, I'm sure the other two heard that one.

"Our first day was something of a train wreck. Oh,.. since your a doctor, this question may be appropriate. Did you examine Minoo physically?" I kinda' squirmed when I asked this, I was really uncomfortable asking it, but he is a doctor, I'd assume he'd be very curious about her construction, or so I thought.

"No Michael, I still feel she is a gift, and I will not defile her."

"Understood, but when Anna gets her new arm, I'd like for you to give her the once over. They should be cut from the same cloth, and as long as she's OK with it, I am too."

"That would be acceptable, Michael. My own curiosity as to what they are is very high, but I do not want to risk the retention of my gift."

"Again, understood. I think it's time we go visit again with the ladies, and Abzari, I've enjoyed this visit, and I hope we're one step closer to figuring all this out."

"I as well, I did not know what to expect by coming here."

I just hoped I hadn't been too offensive, but we have to sweep that shit under the rug. I want to know what those crazy aliens are up to. I got up and opened the door for him.

"Shall we?" We headed to the living room to two chatter-boxes. That's my Anna. Minoo said maybe six words for the half hour we talked. She certainly seems to have a way with people.

"So, what have you two been talking about?"

Minoo goes; "Weddings." Followed directly by Anna; "And babies!"

Facepalm.

I wanted an intelligent, cultured equal. I hope we have some way to do some reading in the future, we got a long way to go. But I have the feeling they were jerking our chain. That's something Anna would do, and the fact that Anna set us up like that was encouraging.

So we said our goodbyes, while promising to do it again. We set up a run together in three days, and they left with smiles on their faces. We had them too.

Now if we can just do this with two hundred and forty eight more couples we'll be all set. I'm not holding my breath.


	12. Alone

The next day we were at our routine, and I couldn't help but think about how much I'd miss doing this. I really enjoyed helping her, even more than I first expected. I was continuously touching her, in ways that expressed love.

While having your independence is great, and I knew she'd be happy to have it back, being a little bit vulnerable is OK. In our recent history we tried so hard to eliminate vulnerability, and I feel that's a mistake. We need each other, we belong to each other. If you become too independent, there's no reason to have anyone else in your life.

I know, I've been there.

"When you get your arm back, is there any way that I can do for you something like I'm doing now? Like maybe help you get dressed on Sundays?"

Yea, I know, calendars don't mean shit, but "Sun-day" now meant the day we would literally jump to the next star.

"Awww, that's kinda' sweet! You're gonna' miss this, aren't you?"

"Yes, this time has been very special to me. In a way, I was your arm. I just felt it brought us closer."

"For me that's impossible." As she said that, she swept me into her embrace, lopsided and all. Kisses, hugs, love. How much love can one couple have before it starts to wear thin?

The time when by, and it went fairly fast. For one reason only. I would have to hand her over for three days while they made sure the grafting process took. Three days of agony, but this time my feelings weren't about how I felt. She would be alone for three days. When she went the last time, she had no contact with the aliens, only with their robots and orbs.

Alone.

I would be too, but loneliness is like an old friend to me, and I don't mind him coming to visit. I'd be able to kick back and enjoy some music, as loud as a want. Separation is a very therapeutic thing for couples, my happiest memories of past relationships are returning from long separations, and I will certainly be overjoyed when she comes back to me.

My loathing is from imagining her being all alone in that medical ward. That is the source of my pain, and in a way that's a good thing, all I care about is her feelings now.

"Michael, I have arranged a meeting of the other Earthlings. I have also coincided this with Anna's surgery. I figured,... you could use a diversion while she's away."

"Well I'll be God-damned Olaf. That's very considerate of you. Keep that shit up and I'm going to start mistaking you for a human."

"I will take that as a complement, Michael."

"You should, so when is Anna's departure time?"

"Two days, at the rotation into light."

"The same rules apply as last time. I want to be to talk to her, and bring _HER_ back."

"If it will make you feel any better, she will mostly be unconscious during her stay."

"In a way it does, I dread her being alone."

"I will be with her every day, Michael. I promise your Anna will be returned to you."

"For your sake, Olaf, I hope you're right." I wonder how long they are gonna' let me get away with these veiled threats.

Our last day like this, the last time I'd tie her shoes out of necessity. While she was brushing her teeth, I had one final request for the day, then it would be all hers.

"Would you indulge me?, I'd like to braid your hair."

"I was wondering when you were gonna' ask me that, go ahead, I'd love it." So I went about doing her signature double braids. Her hair was as thick as yarn, and easy to handle. It's been a real long time since I've done this, but I used to braid wire, same thing. I tied them off with dental floss, looks I'm gonna' be procuring some rubber bands.

"There, what do ya think?" I asked as laid them across her chest.

"Ya know, I really like these, I should do this more often."

"I'm all for that." And there she was, the woman of my dreams. She turned to face me, and the movie resurfaced. There was a scene from the Valley of Living Rock that looked just like this moment, when Bulda was singing to her, and she was lit just perfectly...

But that wasn't real, this is, and all I could do is hold her.

She wanted to go find the horses, and maybe get close, so I indulged her. We walked around the Habitat for hours. But we were kinda' off the trail and managed to avoid people, although I'd see them in the distance. I swore I saw a couple where the female was green, that was odd. Just not spaceship odd.

So we kept searching, but to no avail. We didn't even catch a glimpse of them, and she displayed an air of disappointment.

"We'll find them another day, dear. We have time, and plenty of it." This is something that has to be brought up at the meeting. We have got to find things to do, or we'll all go nuts. I'm hoping someone has a solution, but I may have to step up to the plate.

Morning broke, I got some breakfast in her, and put her in a fresh night robe and the moccasins she wore on that first day.

"Michael, we need to head to the clearing." I could feel that horrible pain in my sinuses that was the onset of crying, but I needed to be strong for her, she didn't need me to be a hot mess right now, so I choked it back, I'd loose it when I got home.

The walk was silent, even the shuttle made no noise until it clunked on the ground. One last embrace and kiss goodbye, dear God let me stay together for just a few more minutes.

"Goodbye, Stumpy. I'll see you in three days, I love you." The pressure inside my head was intense.

"Goodbye, Silly Pants. You can't get rid of me that easy." Our fingers slipped away from their sliding touch, then she stepped onto the shuttle. As soon as the gate latched it sped away as we waved to each other. Thirty seconds later she was out of sight.

Gone.

"I will get our communications set up this afternoon Michael, after her surgery. She will be up for an hour while they run some tests, then she'll be in stasis."

"OK, Olaf. I'm gonna go inside and weep for the next four hours 'til my tear ducts run dry."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yes, Olaf. Pray,... and keep your fucking promises."

"I will do my best, Michael."

And then the tears came.


	13. Meet the Neighbors

"Hey Olaf?, when will I be able to talk to Anna?"

"Communications not yet established."

"Is that you, Olaf?"

"Communications not yet established." Guess not. Apparently all these orbs are the same, just programmed differently. But one message came thru loud and clear. Olaf was by her side, and that's what I wanted. I still have to wonder if there isn't someone on the other side remotely running Olaf, or is he really AI? He's got the driest sense of humor I've ever experienced, and I have to wonder if he'll get decommissioned once this trip is over. He may yet have a dark side, he does spy on us. I just can't help but think something sinister is behind all this, it's just too convenient.

"Hello Michael."

"Oh, hey Olaf! Is everything OK?"

"Yes, Anna should be awakening momentarily. I just wanted to make sure we could communicate."

"Loud and clear here, Olaf. Who's this guy?"

"It is just a relay, it has no autonomous programming." Nailed it.

"Yea, he wasn't much of a conversationalist."

"It's more like what you would call a cell phone."

"Got it. He's definitely not a smart phone. I assume you will be staying with Anna the whole time?"

"Yes Michael, if that is what you'd wish. I must admit, I'm concerned for your welfare as well."

"I'll be fine Olaf, I'm only concerned about Anna."

"Very well, I'll stay here for the duration. I'll take care of her."

"I trust you Olaf, please do not betray that trust."

"You have my word. I'll be back in a few minutes, she is starting to stir."

The silence was deafening, and agonizing.

"Hey there, Silly Buns, ya there?"

"Yea, I'm here. How are you?"

"Good!, and back in one piece. Although I tried playing with myself with the new arm,.. and it just turned around and smacked me!"

"Hahaha, that's a good one, save it for the meet and greet when we have it."

"Speaking of which, is your guys meeting tomorrow?"

"Yep, still on as planned."

"Are you gonna' bring some stuff up?"

"Yes Anna, I'll mention the horses, but I think that's something that maybe we should talk about later, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more." I hoped she got the Python reference that maybe she should can it.

"Oh, right. Ow! Hey! Watch where you're pokin' that thing, buddy! Hey look I gotta' go, the natives are getting restless."

"OK, Anna. Sleep well,... and I'll talk to you soon. Goodbye, my love."

"Smell ya later, Silly. I love you. End transmission."

Well, at least she's in good spirits, and still funny. A little early for masturbation jokes. But hey, the delivery wasn't too bad, she should work on it. Now I felt better. The surgery was a success, and I could finally take a deep breath. I however need to come up with a plan for tomorrow. The bad news is I have no idea what to expect. There is one thing I want to do. I want everyone there to write down who they are, where they're from and what they have to bring to the table. I may have to grow a giant pair of balls and lead them.

Were in the hell is that thought coming from? I know Abzari mentioned it in passing, but it was just an idea, that I dismissed. I have no leadership skills what-so-ever. That's the thing though, does anybody else here have what it takes? If I find someone more capable, I'll happily stand behind them.

I do not want to start an us and them.

We are all in this together.

The meeting was set for three hours after the rotation into light. It would take me nearly forty-five minutes to get there. I'm beginning to believe having some bicycles would be a good idea.

I had the replicator make me two hundred and fifty sheets of paper and the same amount of pencils. I also got a backpack so I could carry all this.

I had to be brave. I needed to summon my inner Anna for this one. I would have to dance on the tree limb and face these people, with confidence. It's not a trait I normally had, but I'd have to now...

It looks like about one hundred people showed up, and it looked like a United Nations conference. Every nationality was represented, but I saw no animosity here. People were huddling in little groups. While the lack of participation was discouraging, the fact that no one was yelling at each other was a good sign. Abzari was here, and a familiar face was a welcome sight.

"So Michael, what is with the bag?"

"If I get the chance, I want everyone to write down who they are, what they have to contribute, and what they have that may be useful."

"That is an excellent idea Michael, I told you you had it in you."

"Well maybe, but I'm American. We're not really too trusted in the rest of the world right now."

"That's the thing, Michael. We're not in the world right now."

There was a very large rectangular table with about two hundred chairs, it must've been fifty meters long. An orb asked us to take a seat. He had this very dry speech about our mission to populate the new world, and our role in it. He also talked about boundaries, rules about how we interacted with the creatures of the Habitat, which, sadly for Anna, meant no domestication, and the fact that our mates are currently sterile, which did cause some moans and groans. One thing that bothered me is that this was something of a sausage fest, women weren't well represented here. Maybe they just elected not to come, this is kinda' scary. I felt my chance was slipping away, time to grow a pair, here goes nothing...

* * *

"Hello, my name is Michael Pulaski. I am a welder from Nebraska. I'd first like to start by saying leadership is not my calling, and as an American, I feel we've done more than enough trampling over the world. But I am a curious man, and I'd like for anyone who wishes to, to come to this stack of paper, fill in your name, what you may be able to contribute to our mission here, and what you may have that will better us as a community." Well, at least I got their attention, I continued.

"How many of you are musicians?" Several hands went up. "Do you have instruments?" Some of the same hands went up, but not everyone had instruments. "I'd strongly recommend that you consult with your assistants to replicate some. One of the things I've noticed is a high level of boredom, is this true for you as well?" Lot's of nods and agreement. "OK, musicians, get together and try to put together a show. What about actors, directors, playwrights, etc?" looks like there were a couple.

"Great, I for one wouldn't mind seeing a play, and I personally have an entire Broadway musical in my head that we could do at some time."

"OK, what about athletes of any kind?" Quite a few of those. "Awesome, see if you can't coordinate some kind of competition, and I would love some weight training and body building."

"OK, does everyone here have a mate?" All hands went up. Good, no one got left out. "And is anyone having any problems with them?" Almost all hands went up, which resulted in a cacophony of laughter.

"I have as well. Right now my mate is on the other side of the shield wall getting a new arm. She's like buying a new car and wrecking it the first week." More laughter, hopefully I can get these people together somehow, time for the big speech. I walked slowly around the table, I wanted to make as much eye contact as possible, and when appropriate, I'd give the table a bang with my fists.

"Look, the simple fact is we're all in this together. We...Must...Make...This...Work."

"We have left Earth behind, we prayed for deliverance and this was the answer. It did not matter who you prayed to, it was answered, and we were chosen. WE WERE!, there is a reason why we're here, and this is our nation now."

"Your past is just that, the past. No matter how you felt about any other race, or nationality, or religion, all that doesn't matter anymore. Here, on this Sacred Barge, we will travel the Sacred Path to OUR new world, in peace, and harmony. We will build a new world surrounded by beauty, art, science, and raising up the human race to a higher plane of existence, and not by how much wealth can be accrued, but how much knowledge can be accrued. We will prove to our benefactors on the other side of that wall we are worthy of their trust, and that we are equals. Look out for your neighbors, make friends, make alliances, make music, make art, and do it for one goal, to advance us as a civilization. The old world lays dying from their own arrogance and greed, for power, and wealth. Crave not these things, for they are the destroyer of worlds."

"We've been given this second chance, let's not ruin it. We have a chance at enlightenment, let's get it right this time, TOGETHER!"

My speech was met with thunderous applause, when I practiced it last night, it seemed kinda' lame. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. I would hate to have ruined this.

So a few people came up to me afterwards and felt I had what they needed for a leader. But I told them there should be an election process, that there may be someone more qualified, and we shouldn't jump on the first person with a fascist-like speech. We arranged to do this again, but with our mates the next time. This should be really interesting. I got maybe sixty sheets filled out, it's a start. Now I need a linguistics specialist to decipher all the languages, I don't know if I trust Olaf with this or not. Looks like our universal language doesn't include writing...

* * *

"Oh good Michael, I see you're awake, is this a good time?" I had a toothbrush hanging out of my mouth. "I'd like to say no, Olaf."

"Anna is awake."

"Please, put her on." As I spit into the sink.

"Good morning Michael, how are you?, did everything go well at the meeting?"

"It's better now that I've heard your voice. And my speech was well received."

"You made a speech?! To how many people?"

"It looks like there were one hundred."

"And how much did they like it?"

"Um,...standing ovation, I guess?" I felt a little embarrassed gloating like that.

"That's fantastic, Michael! What does this mean?"

"It means that I've probably just dug myself a deep hole, and buried myself in it."

"Oh, don't be silly, Silly! You may be able to lead these people."

"Yea, with a princess by my side."

"That's a role I'll gladly take. Hey, they wanna' knock me out again, love ya! and congrats!"

"OK, my love, I'll talk to ya later."

"Later Gator! End transmission."

Princess, the word lingered in my brain. What was our fascination with princesses? It was much more of a girl thing, but it seemed oh so misogynistic. I never called her that, but now it seemed kinda' natural, and I have no idea why. But tomorrow she is coming home, and I want to give her a welcome fit for a princess.


	14. Welcome ome Anna

The shuttle clunked on the ground, and out stepped Anna, Princess Anna. Ugh,... I think I've created a monster in my own mind. She was wearing the same white dress as that first day. A wide strap sleeveless affair in cotton. I vaguely remember seeing her in it from some past memory, ah yes, it's from a story I wrote. She was in the Mediterranean on a trip...

She held out her arms as she approached me, almost as if she was displaying her new arm. We wrapped each other up, and kissed for what seemed like forever. Then something happened that I had totally forgot about, Rain Day. Yep, it rained on a schedule here. The clouds weren't heavy enough for any real precipitation, so they pumped water thru a gazillion nozzles to make it rain in the Habitat.

So there we were, recreating the end of Breakfast at Tiffany's. All we needed was Cat. I just didn't care, it wasn't that cold, and I couldn't move, for fear of spoiling the moment. Even with all the time in the world, I kept having this gnawing feeling that it would all get ripped away at any time. She'd be gone, the Habitat would disappear, and my flabby old carcass would come back, like Cinderella at midnight. But that's what life is, it doesn't last forever, and you have to make the most of it. Even though I would turn out to be one of the oldest humans ever to live. At the time, it just didn't seem like enough.

As we walked back to the house she seen it, and started giggling in the cutest way possible. I had made a sign just like the one in Frozen Fever and hung it in the trees, 'cept this one said; 'Welcome Home Anna'. I had specified to Olaf several days ago I wanted water color paint and a brush on paper to recreate what Kristoff had done. Now that it was raining the paint was running down the paper, making it a complete mess, as the 'H' fell to the ground.

"Well, I bet the stuff inside the house survived."

"I still love it." Then she kissed me on the cheek.

Inside the house it was wall to wall flowers, Minoo gave me a hand with this yesterday. I'm glad Abzari turned her loose with me, I needed the help, and it was a sign that he was letting go of the past, this would have never occurred on Earth. She is very attractive, but my days of chasing tail were decades behind me, and all I can see is Anna in my life now. I'm so glad I can look at a woman like Minoo, and see only beauty, instead of desire.

"Oh my God, they're sooo beautiful!, she walked up to every arrangement to give it a sniff.

"We should probably get into some dry clothes."

"Stellar idea." She went to the replicator and got something comfortable. As she started up the steps, she gave me a long look. I knew what it was, this where I would help her.

"Go ahead, I'll get dressed in the Cave." She slowly turned and walked up the stairs. It's amazing to me how these little things that come in and out of our lives can have such a profound effect. But every Sun-day I would button her buttons, or put on and tie her shoes, and she would smile. It would be our tiny little ritual. And this one was pretty harmless.

So we had dinner, and I finally noticed it, she had a perfectly circular scar around her shoulder. They cut off the remains of her arm and popped in the new one at the socket. Probably trimming off the excess like a vinyl record fresh out of the stamper. She seen me starring at it.

"Pretty ugly scar, eh?"

"I honestly don't care. you're in one piece, and you have your independence back, that is all that matters. You are just as beautiful as the day I met you."

"Still, I wouldn't mind doing a cover-up. Whatcha' think, flowers, Celtic, or maybe a dragon?"

"And ruin your beautiful freckles?" She gave me a puzzled look.

"You think my freckles are beautiful?"

"Of course, do you think you'd have them if I didn't?" It took her a second to realize what I was saying.

"Oh, yea."

"Anna, your beauty lies in these tiny little flaws." I started to touch them. "I never subscribed to the typical beauty that so many American males were attracted to, I'm sure you've noticed your breasts aren't gigantic, right? I think they're actually a touch smaller than in the movie."

"Wait, WHAT?"

"As it turned out, you were kinda' built to specs, and I'm into the dancers body, the Gamine. They obviously seen this and made you this way. You are my ultimate beauty, and anything you do to degrade that is going to sadden me, but I must be fair. Even if they created the image I wanted, it's your body, and you can do what you want. Just know the scar doesn't bother me, and if it bothers you, then fix it. I don't want to ever reduce your happiness."

"When I first met you, you were scared of me, and I thought it was a mistake to love you. I will never believe that again." More hugs, more kisses, more love. She understood what I meant, and she would never feel the touch of the artist's needle. She respected my thoughts, the one's I had while I lied in stasis, waiting for my fountain of youth, dreaming of twirling in the ballroom with the strawberry blonde princess.

* * *

I got a hold of the Doc and had him come by to give Anna a thorough going over, and I mean thorough. He was a little nervous about this, as we were trying to be friends, and the idea of seeing all of her before I did concerned him.

"It's OK, Doc. I really don't have a problem with this. Besides, if her vagina has razor sharp teeth in it, I'd rather you lose some fingers vs. my junk."

"Very funny, Michael. But I suspect that wouldn't be the case."

"Either way, we need to know what's going on here, and any clue is a good clue. I for one am sick of all this secrecy."

"Very well, shall we proceed?"

"Anna, can you come upstairs please?, the Doc is ready for you." She came up the stairs with light, unsure steps. While she said she was OK with this, she may be having second thoughts.

"It'll be OK, Anna. He's done this many times before." Which was an absolute lie, he's never examined an alien before.

"OK, Anna remove all your clothes and lie on the bed."

"That is my cue to go downstairs, make sure you buy her dinner first!"

"Good one, Michael, thanks for being so helpful, while I'm so nervous." I knew I'd be in for it later.

After a while I heard the snap of the glove. Then I heard Anna give a loud 'RAHHHH!' as the Doc immediately gasped. I was rolling on the floor at that point. I wonder if she heard the razor sharp teeth bit. Doc came down the steps first, while Anna got dressed, he was still breathing a little heavy.

"Well one things for sure, she has my sense of humor, you OK Doc?"

"I've been better. Can we talk privately?"

"This way, Doc." I took him to the cave.

"Other than her strange facial appearance, unusual skull shape, and somewhat disproportionately small feet she seems perfectly normal." He paused for a moment, this is never good.

"Her birth canal does seem somewhat larger than I'd expect for a virgin. She is a virgin, right?"

"As far as I know, I don't know if someone took 'er for a test drive before I got her."

"You seem rather flippant about that, Michael."

"I've never had a taste for virginity, they usually don't know what they're doing. But she has my memories in there, so I think she'll be well versed in that department."

I suspected the birth canal thing, that's the reason for my own personal upgrade, parts with a matching fit, plus birthing would be easier. A desirable trait when you want to make as many babies as possible. This has been the curse of women for ever. Hopefully we'll help to breed that awful trait out, it seems so illogical to me that creatures of nature have little trouble giving birth, while human females try to squeeze a bowling ball thru a garden hose. But the clue that provided was the scariest of them all.

When we got to the new world, we would be on our own. The technology would leave with the Masters. We are currently ill prepared for a life without technology. Somebody will have to have a plan.

There are some other possibilities here. We're both big headed people. Those big eyes need a big skull to fit into, and would need a larger passage to fit through. Or is a bigger passage needed for some hideous monster to make it's way thru? I keep having images of a Xenomorph ripping it's way thru her belly just before it consumes us both. I really hope the Masters reveal themselves before we start having children.

"Still, she's quite healthy, you said they wanted to have her wait a few weeks before she uses her arm fully?"

"Yea, that's the message I got from Olaf. I'm not taking any chances with her, I'd hate for her new arm to pop out."

"The speed at which that graft healed is amazing, I hope they share that technology with us some day."

"Me too, Doc. But we should assume that once we reach the home world, we're on our own."

"Agreed,... OK Michael, I'm on my way home, It has been a pleasure, although Anna could use some restraint, I nearly broke my fingers."

"Sorry about that Doc, there's still some child in there."

"Tell me about it,... good day, and peace be with you."

"See ya, Doc. And thanks again."

Hmmm, no surprises here, and only one ominous clue. It was time to meet with the other Hybrides and whatever name the Earthling women came up with for their men. I'm really not looking forward to this.


	15. Ballroom Blitz

Now this was the event I was truly dreading, because I had no idea what I was going to see today. I've only met one other Hybride, and she's completely normal. Because the person who thought of her wasn't completely nuts. Anna was super excited about the whole thing. I had the feeling that the 'First Time in Forever' thing was coming out. The Masters knew that this was a trait that I found endearing, and it was my favorite song in the movie.

"I can't wait to meet everyone!"

"As long as you've met _the_ one, I'm OK with it." That one got by her, blurred by the excitement.

So we got dressed to the nines, but put on some running shoes for the trip there. This is the one time I wouldn't mind being able to hail a cab. It's a long walk, and Anna rambled on about who'd she would like to make friends with. I must admit, this was something I really liked about her. She would be the charming intermediary that would make making friends so much easier, if they can just get past her looks.

The fact was that I kept my passion for Frozen hidden from the world because it was flat out embarrassing, and now everyone would know. There was no way to hide it anymore. My only hope was there would be some more freakish people there to out-shadow her.

Not a snowballs chance in Hell...

"Oh, hey look. it's the Zahir's"

"Where, I don't..." Damn, 'Eyeballs' is at it again. As I looked out into the crowd, it seems that Anna was a unique creature among the Hybrides. While I was seeing lots of large breasts, I wasn't seeing anything too off the cuff. But there were some exceptions, there was a Marilyn Monroe. Kinda' cliche', but meh, OK. Alright!, there we go, an Orion. I'd recognize that green skin anywhere. I knew I wasn't imagining her the other day.

Another woman had a very Japanese Hentai look. More big eyes. Saw a couple of Amazons in the crowd too, I always liked those. One had to be over two and a half meters tall.

"Honey, I'm gonna' go mingle."

"Go ahead, Anna. I'll catch up."

"Is that Princess Anna?" An inquisitive couple ask me.

"Yep, one and the same."

"If you don't mind us asking, how did she come about? Oh,.. and I was there for your speech, very inspiring."

"Well, she's the result of a delusional mind, in a way. I was obsessed with the whole Frozen thing. Be careful what you wish for, right?" Man, I could use a drink right now.

"She's very lovely, you must be proud."

"For a choice I didn't make, she was a good choice." That one went right over their heads, ZING!

"She also seems to have attracted quite a crowd." Yea, it looks as though Anna was the hit of the party, she was completely surrounded by guests, answering all their questions with grace. The women were just absolutely fawning over her. I could see them pointing at her eyes, probably giving her make up tips and the like. With her ear to ear grin and her hands folded in front of her, she was the epitome of cuteness. I saw her wave her arm near her face, followed by fits of laughter, HA! She must've done the masturbation joke, and it worked. Good for her. It seems she could converse fluently with these people. Maybe this was the leader they would be looking for, but she was still a baby. As a pair, we could possibly pull it off. I was really awkward in these situations, but Anna looked like she was born for it, maybe she was.

Funny thing was though-on earth-it was always Elsa, Elsa, Elsa. Anna just didn't have the fanbase she did. To me, Anna was the real hero of the story. Although my own twisted view of the world may have skewed my view somewhat. They both made sacrifices, but Anna gave her life for Elsa. Yea, it was just a movie, but now look were I am. Waist deep in fantasy, that's real. If Elsa was here, Anna would probably be second fiddle again. But these people seem genuinely hooked on her, what is it about her that's so magnetic?

It looks as though roughly the same crowd was here at the last meeting, just times two. These people it seemed just longed for a lost love, and their prayers were answered. Anna was a freak among them, but she was a freak that they liked. I was scared that she would be an outcast here, but that's not proving to be the case. I really didn't get to talk to her much for the rest of the evening. That is, until the Quartet began to play.

It seems that some of resident musicians had taken my advise and got together, I couldn't be happier. They broke out some Beethoven from the Middle Quartets. While I never paid too much attention to the individual pieces, I recognized the work, I had a collection from Hungary with these pieces on it. They were joined by a horn section, then they broke out the Strauss Waltzes, the Blue Danube started to play and I saw Anna run up to me;

"Let's dance, shall we?"

"Oh, wait Anna, I don..."

"Come on!" Too late, she was dragging me out to the floor. It wasn't a complete disaster. I learned square dancing when I was a kid, but that was fifty years ago.

She, on the other hand, was a complete natural. How she learned this, I have no idea. I don't ever remember seeing her practice, but she did seem to have a good sense of rhythm. Maybe she just has pre-programmed natural abilities. Another strange thing that leaves me baffled. I did manage to get one good twirl out of her, her skirt fanning out as she spun.

"See, you're not too bad, and at least you're not trampling my feet." The fact was that's only because they were so small they were a hard target to hit.

This moment brought back a dream I had as a teenager. I can't remember her name, but there was this girl I would talk to on the bus ride home after school. She had the same piercing eyes as Minoo. I dreamt of that girl in a ballroom gown while I swept her across the floor to this very same music. Now I'm doing it with someone who is ten times more beautiful, and I felt as if my heart would burst out of my chest, so many dreams coming true all at once. Speaking of Minoo, she and the Doc were burning up the floor. If this was a contest, they'd be going home with the big trophy. Maybe they can give us some pointers. But in Abzari's religion, dancing like this was frowned upon, where did he learn this?

In my self created daze, I complete ignored the fact that the floor had cleared except for the Zahir's and us. The music ended to much applause, while Anna and I bowed in the Zahir's direction as I proclaimed to the crowd;

"The Winners, ladies and gentlemen!" More applause ensued.

"OK, Anna, I think that's enough for now."

"Alright, but we are taking lessons as soon as I can arrange it."

"I would be delighted, m' lady."

Abzari had walked over and took Anna's hand; "Would you care to dance, your Highness?"

"Charmed." And off they went. It's one thing to see your dance partner in front of you. But the view from afar gives you another perspective, a chance to see her from a different angle, and I found myself mesmerized. She was such a vision, I hope we get to do this forever. Why did we ever stop doing this? This is what the human race needed. Interaction. Beauty. Enlightenment. Joy. Why did we tolerate the existence we got handed? Were only a select few people supposed to have this kind of enjoyment? This should be for everybody.

Now that is what concerns me. Not everyone is here. Some of us are still camped out, huddling in their houses, afraid to come out. We have to reach out to them-we're in this together-we need them.

The evening wrapped up with a few people stopping by to say how much they liked my speech, and to Anna came complements on her dancing and how charming she was. We did make some inroads here and I figured these were good things. But disaster hangs over my head like a piano being hoisted into a ten story building, and sooner or later it will fall.


	16. The Tree House

**A/N, I know I haven't done notes in a while, but I just don't see the point right now. There are about 5 to 10 of you across the planet reading this. Anywho, it's time for the story to go dark. It's been something of a cushy ride for Anna and Michael other than the initial shock of meeting for the first time. Oh,...and falling out of a tree.**

 **Fair Warning, it gets juicy in this chapter. I was going to an M rating, but I have so few readers I figure if you've made it this far, you're mature enough to handle some sexploits. I doubt I've ever got the mods attention. To those few, thanks for reading!**

* * *

 _"This will be the high point of my day,... it's all downhill from here."_

 _Lester Burnham_

* * *

Anna had finally been given clearance for all activities and she was bursting at the seams. She was dancing around bouncing on the balls of her feet, showing her usual amount of restlessness.

"When we get it done, I want to put some planters up there for flowers, maybe some mums, carnations, or crocuses. Roses might be a bit too formal. Then some rope lighting up the spiral staircase. We are doing the spiral staircase, right?, I mean we could do just a switch back or maybe..."

I put a finger up to her mouth, when she got on the ramble, she might not stop for an hour.

"Anna, settle down. Let's enjoy the process. If we just wanted the finished project, they could replicate the whole thing, but what fun would that be?"

"I'm sorry, Michael. When my brain starts to thinking, sometimes it just runs amuck."

"So I've noticed."

Olaf had managed to acquire the materials we needed, and they had sat in the back yard for a week. He also managed to calibrate the replicator for something that was really beyond his comprehension.

"They're called screws, Olaf."

"Is that because they use rotational force to anchor into the wood?"

"Yes, Olaf. That about sums it up."

"Fascinating." He also came up with a power pack that would outlast the drill it was in.

It took a bit of convincing to the Masters that we weren't building something to climb the shield wall- which was dumb- it was two hundred meters tall, then had an opaque shield on top of it, or some type of medieval weapon. Olaf himself had overseen the replication of the 'wooden' pieces. He couldn't for the life of him understand why we didn't want pre-cut pieces, or why we wanted to build it at all.

"Michael, I could have this project done within an hour, why do you wish to labor so?"

"Idle hands, Olaf. We're bored, and I want Anna and I to do something together."

"I've heard that phrase used before."

"Idle hands are the Devil's workshop. It was something our slave masters back on Earth used to make us work harder- in other words- it was in the Bible."

"I though slavery was abolished on your planet."

"HaHaHa! Olaf, that's very funny. Slavery never stopped- they just switched to finances- instead of chains. On Earth, they were the same thing."

"When we removed their power grid, did we remove their chains?"

"I hope so for their sake, Olaf."

* * *

After breakfast, me and Ms. Ants in the Pants got to work. We'd start with the staircase. We picked the straightest 'maple' we could find and spiraled around the trunk. The device we used to cut the planks was actually a type of medical scalpel. It looked like a small flashlight with an adjustable pencil lead thickness beam of light that came out about thirty centimeters at its maximum length. It had been re-calibrated for our use. If it got within one centimeter of flesh, it would automatically shut off. Good thing too. It would cut anything I passed the beam thru.

Then the geekazoid had a 'me' flashback. Anna in her best Darth Vader voice; "No, I am your father!" then I picked up the other one; "I'll never join you." All the while making the lightsabre noises during our faux duel. What made it even funnier was the fact we were using actual lightsabres, on an actual spaceship. This woman truly was my soulmate. We got the staircase done when the ship finally rotated out of the starlight.

"Can we bring out some lanterns so we can keep working?"

"Let's just call it a day, Anna. We've got plenty of time, patience."

"Race you inside!"

"Anna, we must clean up first, and I don't want tools laying about overnight."

"Ughhhh!" There's still a lot of child in there, and I really want to have a physical relationship with her, but she is damn sure making that choice difficult.

Once we got inside and finished up with dinner, It occurred to me the Masters have slipped a little. Those medical lasers are made to be used by humanoid hands, and approximately our size. Finally, a small clue as to who, or what they are.

"I'm kinda' tired, so I'm headed to bed." She bent over and gently kissed me on the head. As she backed up she slowly opened her eyes. What a pleasant image that was, like the wings of those butterflies.

"Goodnight Anna, I'll be up soon."

Once she was upstairs, I put some jazz on the turntable, then called out for Olaf. Something had been festering with me all day.

"Olaf, what all did your people do to Earth before we left?"

"I can't tell you everything of course."

"Of course." Using as much sarcasm as I could muster.

"All power grid devices, such as step up transformers, generator windings, capacitors, and all telecommunications antennas and satellites were destroyed. Anything with a circuit board or solid state device was rendered inoperative."

"EMP?"

"Yes."

"Is that why you were so enamored of my tube gear?"

"Besides its primitive construction, yes."

"OK, so why did you destroy it all?"

"You prayed for help for your world, as did many others. Some of those others are here. We took away their ability for 'enslavement' as you put it. Without technology, they'll revert to a simpler, more manageable existence. It will be the struggle you eluded to earlier. Yes,... many will die, but nature will be brought back into balance."

"I had always thought that it would be best for the earth to depopulate, I just never could think of a good way to do it."

"Neither did we, Michael. The method we used was rather cruel. But in a few hundred years, they will look back and remember us as liberators."

"You do realize Olaf, that speech has been used before, and the ones who said it were anything but."

"History will be our judge, Michael. We had to try. The bad news is we had little time before we had to leave, this was the best we could do in such a short time frame."

"What about all the nuclear material? That stuff needed electricity to keep it under control."

"All nuclear material on Earth was confiscated, and sent into the Sun."

"Well,... at least that's a relief."

"Leaving those materials behind would have caused the extinction of all life on Earth."

"Alright Olaf, I'm sufficiently bummed out. That will be all."

"Goodnight, Michael. Pleasant dreams." Not a chance in hell for that. I wonder if that was an attempt at sarcasm?

* * *

I went upstairs and just watched Anna sleep, then I stroked her hair. While back home they were smashing in each others skulls for a can of soup on a filthy street somewhere. Most of them doomed to extinction,... but not all of them. I lay here in this comfortable bed, ten times better off than the richest man on Earth, and I can't help but wonder how lucky I am. I have to make this work. I have to have twenty children, raise them properly, teach them to love, to be good to each other, and be good stewards to the world in which they live.

Debt.

I've racked up the biggest debt in history. If a dollar amount were placed on what's happened to me so far, it would be in the quadrillions. For one man, who was a simple worker, doing an ordinary job, his days numbered by a biological death sentence. On a dying world.

All the money in the world couldn't save them, those who ran Earth- the true Masters- were now on equal footing with the slave class. They couldn't just buy a ticket to come on board this vessel.

Jesus said; "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." His statement now weighing true. Humans spent every waking minute of their day counting money, every decision, every product, every service deemed it's worth based on how much money could be made by it.

This whole project would have never got off the ground on Earth, even if the sun was going supernova. There'd be no profit in it. That basically grounded the space program back home. It was just a giant hole that swallowed money. It was not seen as destiny, or an expansion of the human condition. It was just numbers on a screen, and those numbers just didn't add up. Maybe they deserved to die, the human stench being cleared from what was once a shining beacon floating in space.

It's fate now sealed.

I now have a giant headache from this barrage of thought, and it's not like I can go to the medicine cabinet and grab something, "Oh Olaf?"...

* * *

We spent the next two days putting up the deck. It was a octagonal affair with enough room to lay down on, the trunk running thru the deck offset so we had space. We also positioned the deck so it was in a thin part of the tree, that way we could see the sky. Anna was the better drawer of us two and her plans were easy to follow. I helped her with the bracing, however. Olaf looked at this and was concerned;

"I afraid this design doesn't look entirely stable."

"OK, Olaf. when we're done you can shore it up however you see fit."

"That would make me feel so much better." He was concerned about our welfare, and it seemed as if he had feelings. He was obviously concerned about Anna, and got her a sling for some of the deck mounts that she insisted on installing herself.

She was one of those 'Get back on the Horse' kind of people, and while I felt some trepidation from her swinging around in that tree, I knew if I stopped her, it would have created some friction between us. Hopefully the Masters have seen fit to make her some more body parts, just in case. While I was trimming some of the deck timbers I dropped the cutting tool, it whizzed right by her arm. Luckily the safety worked...

"Hey!, I just got this thing put back on!"

"Sorry!" Ugh,... now I'm trying to maim her.

We were just finishing up when the ship jumped to the next star. They always brought the ship in the same daylight position so our schedules wouldn't get mixed up. Always fourteen hours of daylight and twelve hours of night. I assumed it matched the planet we were going to. Olaf popped up and said; "We have a special treat for you tonight so be sure to watch the sky."

"Wouln't be a problem Olaf, we're sleeping out on the tree house deck tonight."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"It'll be fine Olaf, I'm sure we'll survive." Little did I know how close I'd be to being wrong.

As we rotated into night, The habitat became lit up in color, we had parked next to a nebula. Hundreds of baby stars beaming their first light, making the gas glow in a myriad of colors, breathtaking didn't even begin to describe this.

"Look Michael, the sky's awake." And a dream unfolds before our eyes.

How many people would give their very lives to see what we are seeing right now?

"I'll go get some sheets and pillows."

"OK, Anna, I'm on the snacks!" Then we climbed the stairway to heaven, and starred out into space. Umm, salted caramel chocolate chip cookies, and nebula. They go so well together.

We stripped off our clothes, laid down on the deck and got under the covers. Anna's normally teal eyes turned this beautiful green color in the light of the nebula. Her hair looked like fire in its orange glow.

"It's so beautiful, Michael."

"I know."

"But you're looking at me."

"Exactly. You're a thousand times more beautiful than that nebula out there."

"Oh Michael..."

I was laying beside her, slowly running my fingers from nap of her neck to around her breasts, then down between her legs. She was very ready. I could feel the energy pass between us as she arched her back and squirmed enough to knock the covers off.

We started kissing each other softly, but that lasted only a for a few moments.

Now our kissing had turned to inflamed passion, our tongues finally meeting for the first time. She slipped her arm underneath me and pulled me on top of her. There was no need for any more foreplay. I could chisel granite and a river flowed underneath her. The wave of adrenaline shock nearly made me pass out as I slipped inside her.

Grinding ever so slowly, it was like being sucked into a black hole, as you cross the event horizon, time nearly stops. I was hoping my event horizon would hold out for a little while longer. When she finally climaxed, I heard her scream echo off the hull.

Her orgasm was so powerful she clamped me and I couldn't move. Then she rolled on top and gentle passionate love making went straight to animal lust. She was pounding me as hard as she could, moaning with every breath. I could hold back no longer, and it was my turn to start screaming. My vision had clouded from the rush, and I could barely get enough oxygen.

I had completely forgotten what that was like.

She leaned in and kissed me, then pressed her lips to my ear and whispered; "Do you want to go again?" I needed at least a few minutes to recover.

"Can you give me ten minutes?"

"Sure."

I think she got minutes and seconds mixed up, as she was back on top of me in no time. It was a very long night...

* * *

Dawn was breaking when I woke up. Holy shit!, did that actually happen? Oh ya it did, there was barely a dry spot on the deck, and I wasn't in one. Note to self, bring towels next time, lots of towels. I guess youthfulness has it's advantages, but it only goes so far, I had no idea how we were gonna' get down those steps. We might need Olaf to rescue us.

Then I heard the voices; "Anna, Mike! Are you ready? We're burning daylight!"

Oh, shit! I forgot we were supposed to go running with the Zahir's. However, walking was going to be an issue today.

"Oh, hey Abzari. Looks like we misjudged our evening and we wouln't be able to go running today."

"Nice tree house Michael, but when..." That's when supernova hair popped her head up.

"Oh hey guys, what brings you here?" Hers eyes barely open.

I said to her out the side of my mouth; "We were supposed to run with them today, dear."  
Anna said rather loudly; "Oh FUCK that idea!" Then she laid back down.

"She's really not a morning person." The look of shock on their faces was priceless.

"OK,... next week then?"

"We'll be ready, see ya soon!" Then they turned and ran, quickly.

We're going to have to burn these sheets and hose the deck down.


	17. The Post Game Wrap Up Show!

"Wait,.. I said WHAT?!"

"To put it mildly, you said running today would be a bad idea, in the most vile and vulgar way possible."

"Oh... We're going to have to apologize to them somehow."

"We, Ms. Potty Mouth?! Do you have a mouse in your... wait, never mind." She was still naked, and I didn't want to go there.

"Ugh... I've never felt so sticky, or been so sore. Maybe we over did it a little?" She kinda' winced as she said it.

"Ya think?!" We were young, and in love. We had newfound passion, and last night we had barely scratched the surface. Now we had to deal with the consequences. And we still had to deal with those steps.

Another mistake we managed to make was not bringing the slings up, at least we could have kept ourselves from tumbling down the steps. But those went between our legs, and the prospect of having anything occupying that space made me shutter.

We threw the sheets and our clothes over the side and let them fall to the ground. Then crawled our way over to the steps.

It was like standing at the edge of a cliff. I decided to be chivalrous and go first.

Ow-ouw-ow-ouw-ow-ouw all the way down for both of us, I never was so happy to be on solid ground.

"Dibs on the tub." Said Anna.

"Very well, you seem to be worst off." Then she whacked me in the arm, and I swept her up and gave a morning breath kiss. That's when you know you've arrived as a couple. You can stand in your side yard completely naked, hair that looks like you had a squirrel living in it, covered in goo, breath like a stale fart, and all you can think about is how much you love each other. We must've been quite a site...

I guess they were starting to trust us more, the replicator had been adding items available to us. One of these things were art supplies. Anna took one of the leftover planks from the tree house build, and cut the ends off in a swirling pattern. Rosemaling. She was remembering more from her implanted life, I sometimes wondered what she'd be like around a welder. She took the scalpel and just touched it's surface and routed it with more rosemaling around the edges. In the center she spelled one word; 'Love'.

She went to the replicator and ordered paints and brushes, along with some sandpaper. Dipping the brushes into the the routings, this paint was the best stuff ever, it came with a wand that you passed over it and it dried rock hard. Then she sanded what had slopped out of the routing, and finished it by giving it a clear coat.

"Hows this?, do you think the Zahir's will like it?"

"I think they'll love it, Anna. You're very crafty."

"Thank you. I think I'll do some of this for the house, I mean, if it's OK with you."

She was asking my permission to girly up the place. When I was on earth, my home was quite stark- and frankly- I liked it that way. I was a minimalist and I think the Masters seen this, as this home reflected that simplicity.

But this was _our_ home now, and I was delighted with the prospect of our home having a woman's touch.

"Yes, Anna. You have my permission to go nuts, and thanks for asking. All I ask is that you leave the storage room alone. I want a mancave that has some shred of masculinity, and another thing, don't put ANYTHING on my speakers."

"Of course darling, thank you!" Then she gave me a big hug. Compromise. If we could keep this up, we could have the best relationship ever. But that has never happened with any couple in the history of the universe. Maybe because there's so much of me in her this works, but I can't help but think the day will come with a big blowup. Right now though, it's all hugs, kisses, and sweetness.

Even in paradise flowers die...

* * *

"Olaf."

"Yes, Michael. What can I do for you?"

Can you get a message to the Zahir's to come to dinner tomorrow evening, three hours before the rotation into night?"

"A small social gathering based on the consumption of food. Excellent idea, Michael. Do you mind if I observe this firsthand?"

"No, Olaf, I know you spy on us anyway."

"I wouldn't put it that way, Michael. I merely wish to observe you."

"I don't suppose you 'observed' us last night." There was that pause again. Anna had just stepped into the room, her eyes as big as saucers.

"You hesitated."

"I'm sorry Michael, but I do have a job to do- and besides- your performance last night was an excellent example of the human condition."

"Olaf!" Anna screamed. "That was a very personal moment! We're not some zoo animals meant for you to gawk at!" Sic'em Anna! She was very arousing when she stood up for herself.

"Anna, one thing you must realize is there's a price for everything. Your very existence is based on preserving our races. If you don..."

"Olaf, that is ENOUGH! Do as I asked, then power down. I'll deal with you later." I was basically telling the Masters to go fuck themselves. They needed us, and I'll lead a revolt if they ever threaten Anna or myself again, I don't care if they can read minds.

If your reading my thoughts right now, then you'll know I wouln't let you threaten Anna's life. Ever.

"You know I'm very proud of you, the way you handled that back there. You stood up for yourself." We were just getting into bed, and were calling it quits early, the starlight just starting to fade.

"Thanks, but I'm still pissed! How much do you think they watch us?"

"Every single minute, of every single day."

"You don't seem to be too bothered by this."

"I'm a realist, Anna. Right now these beings have us by the short and curlies. This is their ship, and their habitat." The next thing I said would really ruffle her feathers.

"They made you, Anna. they _made_ you. How do I know they wouln't take you away and dematerialize you. I can't bear the thought of losing you right now, so I'm willing to compromise my privacy. This place is the next best thing to being in Heaven, and I wouln't do anything to jeopardize this right now. Although I just told Olaf to go jump in a river, I'll have to apologize to him tomorrow."

"You're defending them?! I can't believe you right now! I'm sleeping somewhere else. Goodnight, Michael!"

"Anna wait, don't lea..."

"Don't talk to me right now!" There it was, the blowup. Over something this trivial. Well, trivial to me anyhow. Earlier today I imagined all the animals of the forest in an circle underneath the tree house all cheering us on last night.

And with the twenty thousand hours of porn that I've watched in my lifetime, thinking about the Masters huddled around a monitor watching Anna do the reverse cowgirl was kinda' funny.

She did not see it that way, her feelings were crushed. But they were her feelings, this didn't come from me. Her thoughts are becoming independent. When I first met her- and the way she did the whole 'Stepford Wives' bit- I feared I was getting a robot. Now she's down on the couch fuming over being spied upon, and for what I said. I was using logic, and she was following her heart. This made me smile, and now I love her even more.

True love, that's what this is. It's finally happened for me. On this speck of dust floating among the stars, with the soft orange glow of the nebula streaming thru the windows, I felt so at ease, and sleep came.

Well,... for a short time anyhow.

* * *

"Are you awake?" She was practically rolling me over, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I am now." I was grinding into my eyes to fight the sleepiness.

"I couldn't sleep, I kept thinking about what you said, and how you talked to Olaf. That could have been very dangerous... and I.. just... can't... stay mad at you."

"That's the thing, Anna. This whole thing is very dangerous. We're in space, at the mercy of the Masters. A billion things could go wrong. I live with that fear every day. I have you, Anna. Right now you're my rock. I need you, do you understand? _I NEED YOU_!" I just couldn't hold back my emotions. Dammit! I really didn't need a moment of weakness. I got myself back together, took a few deep breaths and tried to tell her how I felt at the moment.

"Anna, you have no idea how glad I am that you got mad, even when you directed that anger at me. When I first met you, I though I was getting an automaton. A cardboard cut out Princess Anna of Arendelle. You're proving me wrong, and I couldn't be happier."

"So you're not mad at me?"

"How could I be?"

"I still feel I handled this badly."

"Anna, you handled it with your heart, I couldn't be more in love with you right now."

"I'm so sorry." Then she gave me a big hug, and I gave her one back. We may have gone to bed mad, but the star did not shine through the window with us feeling that way. I drew her into the covers, spooning into her and stroking her hair. Then I whispered in her ear.

"There will be many more times like this, we will live a very long time. Please, let's settle things before we go to sleep, there is no problem we can't solve, as long as we love each other."

She turned to me face to face. We were just kissing for the better part of an hour, and stroking each other. Make up sex was completely out of the question, as that particular equipment wasn't functioning up to specs yet, and I've never been a big fan of that anyway.

I would really like to get some sleep, before that giant fusion reactor comes streaming through the window. We have a dinner party, and I have to apologize to Olaf, or cuss him out, we'll see how that goes.

* * *

"Olaf, what the Hell? You don't ever threaten Anna,... ever. Do I make myself clear?"

"First off, you didn't let me finish last ni..."

"Your damn right I did not let you finish, she is very fragile. You do remember our first day? I'm sure you seen all that too."

"Please Michael, just let me speak. I know all this looks very easy. But you must understand, this whole thing was a very difficult thing for us to undertake. Creating all the Hybrides cost us a great deal of our long accrued treasure. We were well aware of your mental stability. we had to be sure, you and the others of your species were right for us, and this mission. Please see this thru our eyes."

"I've been tested, haven't I?"

"Yes, and so far you've passed with flying colors, as you'd like to put it." There it is, now it's out in the open. I suspected this all along. I knew this was a trick that women back home used all the time, and I'd fail miserably,...all the time. But this time I was one step ahead of them.

"Ya' know what Olaf? I really don't care. You can spy on me and play your little games to your hearts or what ever keeps you alive content, I just don't care. But if you do anything that upsets Anna, I will smash you into a million tiny pieces."

"That wouldn't do any good, Michael. The object you see is merely a drone, my being lies elsewhere." Way to go, asshole. Another clue.

"Have you thought about how much you've changed since you've been here, Michael? You came here as a timid loner, the very sight of Anna scared you near to death. Now look at you. You stood in front of a hundred and six complete strangers and gave them the most inspirational speech they've ever experienced personally in their lives. You've fallen in love deeper than with any female you knew on Earth. And knowing how omnipotent we are, you still told me to 'Go fuck yourself!' in so many words. That is an extremely brave thing to do. Would you have done any of these things on Earth?" Damn, he got me. Point, Olaf.

"Yes, Olaf. You're right. I've changed, and rather quickly, to boot. But the fact still remains that I will never, ever trust you fully, until you reveal yourselves. I want to shake somebody's hand, or flipper, or whatever. If I ever find out that Anna's accident was intentional, there will be hell to pay, I promise you."

"I can assure you that was purely an accident, please watch." Now Olaf broke out something I haven't seen the whole time I've been here, their video technology. It was an overhead view, so I have to assume the cameras are mounted near the sky panels, yet another clue. I watched in horror as she danced down the limb and it gave way, her falling to the ground, and her screaming, it was gut wrenching.

"Please, Olaf, turn it off."

"Now do you believe me? These beings are a substantial investment on our part. We would not intentionally damage them to this extent in order to conduct a test." Price, cost, value. Didn't we just leave all that shit behind? Now I felt terrible. Anna was just a thing to them. She had a dollar amount attached to her. It reminded me of that joke I made at the meeting, she was repaired instead of replaced. She wasn't 'totaled' like in the car insurance vernacular.

"Alright Olaf, that will be enough for now."

"Is there something else bothering you right now?"

"I just need some space, Olaf."

"Very well, call me if you need anything." I never even acknowledged him. I decided to just go for a walk, alone.


	18. Frozen

I walked around for an hour, it brought no comfort. I could barely think, I was just numb. All I see now is a cage, a prison. The greatest gift ever bestowed on man, a pretty jail cell.

I went home and plopped on the couch, shoes and all. I just didn't care anymore. How foolish have I been? This isn't real. None of this is real. It was created by the delusional thoughts of a mad man. Those eyes, those big dopey eyes. I wanted them, like ordering a new car with heated seats. They were an option, designed to entice me into the sale. I wanted her so bad on Earth- so fucking badly- but I couldn't afford her, or someone like her. The cost was just too high.

Then she magically appears, and all those delusional dreams come true. This house, this place, this ship, and her. All the treasure on Earth couldn't buy any of this. And I have to live up to some unreachable standard to afford all this. This gift has a price tag, and I don't know if I can make the payments.

She trudged sleepily down the stairs, in her green flannel night gown and her typically messy hair. This was just another thing that was by design, like a product. We all laughed when that scene came on in the movie, it _**was**_ funny, and meant to elicit an emotional response. I'm supposed to look at it and feel the same way. It's all by design. When she fell out of the tree, I acted predictably, I told her I loved her, instead of standing over and laughing; " _Serves ya right, you stupid bitch_!" That's the response I should have had. I would've failed my test, but that's the true answer in the face of this gigantic lie that I now live in.

How can I possibly lead these people? It's just another sick delusion I've made for myself. Peace. Love. Harmony. All a bunch of hippy bullshit that I spread out like fake cheese in a can on a cracker.

She came up to me and gave me a hug, but I did not reciprocate.

"What's wrong?, I thought we had all this settled last night?"

"I talked to Olaf this morning, and he kinda' 'spilled the beans' on what you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your a product, Anna. A thing. You've got a price tag on you, and it's one I can't afford. I always feared this. When you ran away, when you got hurt. They were testing me Anna, to see if I was worthy of their gift, and that gift was you. Your a thing, Anna. A product just as if I ordered you online, and paid extra for express delivery." She started breathing very heavily. She had no idea how to handle this, and frankly, neither did I.

"Now what am I supposed to do?!" She started crying, and I felt no sympathy for her, I felt nothing.

"I don't know Anna, I'm not sure what your return policy is." With that she ran up the stairs, inconsolable.

Just then Olaf came out of his hole and went up the stairs. I have no idea what was said. When he came back down I told him to cancel our dinner plans and why.

"You are making a grave mistake, Michael. You should not look at it this way. No matter how she came into your life, she still loves you. Please reconsider, you are her world."

Ugh,... I've never had a bigger headache than now.

I just didn't know what to do, I felt trapped. I'm going to need some help. I can't fix this alone. This is just more than what the human mind is able to comprehend at this point. It's just too much.

"If I may be so bold, Michael, why don't you go and see a therapist. We have one that lives nearby, maybe she can help you."

Well, isn't that convenient? I think I need help and Olaf here has an immediate solution- right on cue- guess I'll play along.

"OK, Olaf. Can you set me up an appointment for today?"

"Shouldn't be too difficult, Dr. Shwartzbaum has a free schedule." Yea, I bet she does. There is a plan afoot here, now to figure out what it is.

"Don't worry Michael, this too can be fixed."

"I hope so Olaf, I just know right now my head isn't on straight."

"I understand Michael, I'll make the call."

Oh, the pain, the pain...

* * *

"Thank you for seeing me, Dr. Shwartzbaum."

"You're welcome, and the pleasure is all mine. I was there for your speech, and I met Anna at the mixer. She's very beautiful and charming."

"Yea, she's all that." Her home was typical German terra-cotta like construction, I remember what they looked like from my two year stay in that country. She had set up an office, with comfortable chairs and a somewhat dark, somber appearance to the wall treatments. Soft music was coming from somewhere, and had a few large plants. She had some of her degrees displayed which made me think that the Masters had kinda' seen this coming. While they were experts at fixing us physically, they were a pile of shit when it came to our minds.

Really, I always wanted to do this. I knew I was in trouble, but as long as I wasn't shootin' up a kindergarten, I figured I was OK. As it turned out, that was another lie I told myself. My biggest fear was they would just shove a prescription for crazy pills at me and that would be the end. I knew what I needed, love. And in great quantities. I had love in spades and now I feel nothing. But that love was fake, and manufactured. Now I doubt if I can hold onto it. Let's see what the doc has in mind.

"OK, Michael, have a seat. Please start at the beginning, so I can get a baseline of you."

So I went about talking about my former life on earth, how miserable it was, and about getting sucked up into here. Then I discussed meeting Anna, and how freaky that was.

Then we talked about my speech, and where the incite for that came from. It was now time to get to the heart of the matter.

"Tell me where your problems began here with Anna."

"We had our first sexual relations the other night in the tree house we had just finished. We managed to way over do it that night and missed a run with our friends the Zahir's the next morning. We wanted to make it up to them as Anna was rather rude to them in her sleepy state when they showed up in front of our house."

"When we were discussing inviting them over for dinner to our assistant, Olaf, he and I were discussing his spying on us that night. Anna was absolutely indignant. When we talked about it, her feelings were very hurt, but I wasn't affected at all. I'm a guy, and I knew they spied on us anyhow. When she felt I was on their side, she stormed off in a huff."

"So, how did that make you feel?"

"In a way, very good. She had her own feelings, and I want her to be independent."

"Do you feel she's really becoming independent?"

"No, it's all too convenient. Like she's designed to do the things she does. What's even more disturbing, Olaf practically admitted that they were testing me. Every time I do something now, I have to think about the implications of my actions in their eyes."

"You think they spy on us?" Uh-oh, the doc is off on a tangent other than therapy.

"I believe we are all monitored, all the time. I got the unique privilege of seeing Anna's accident in 3D this morning. The Hybrides themselves may be spies, even without their knowledge."

"It's obvious your relationship with Anna is extremely complex. The truth is I'm going to need to rewrite the book on psychotherapy and relationship counseling from scratch. In my practice on Earth, we just didn't have these issues.

Here's what I want you to do. Your mind created her, so those positive thoughts are still in there. Try channeling those thoughts to a single point, put them all in one spot, and go to them when things get rough."

"OK, Doc. I'll give that a try. But I have to ask, is this a common problem among us?"

"Doctor/patient confidentiality prohi..."

"Doc, please. If you heard my speech then you know what I'm about."

"OK, um... yes. I've had several Earthlings with similar complaints."

"Alright Doc, take notes, develop any theories you can. My original thoughts in my speech are still the same. We must make this work, we'll die out if we don't."

"Just don't take your feelings for the Masters out on Anna. It's not her fault she was made the way she is- and technically- it's yours. Try to keep that in mind when talking to her. She can't help but love you. She is still a sentient being. I know- I live with one too- and I have essentially created a monster."

"OK, I'll see you in a few days doc, sooner if things go to hell."

"Take care, Michael, I'll do what I can to help solve these mysteries, I believe in you."

"'Bye!"

"Tschüss!"

* * *

As I walked home I thought about what a total ass I've been. The Doc may not be any help right now. She needed a university study group and dozens of students and professors working non-stop to get a handle on what's happening here. I have to fix this,... me. Just when I was professing a need for help, what do I do? But it was just the first visit, I should give this some time, it's one thing we have an abundance of. Focus.

I got home to an Anna who was sulking on the couch.

"They'll take me back." She said very stoically.

"What?"

"I talked to Olaf, the Masters will take me back if you don't want me. They'll put me in suspended animation for the rest of trip, then I'm on my own."

Sacrifice. She did it again. She was willing to give up her own life to make me happy. I just broke down, and collapsed to the floor, now I was the one drowning. I had snapped. I feared this moment would come one day, my mind turning into a spinning fog, I couldn't make rational decisions, or say what I meant. It all fell apart, in just one instant.

"I don't deserve you, or any of this! It's just too much, I can't take this any more!"

I passed out, I don't know how long I was out, but the orange glow of the nebula was shining thru the windows. I was covered up on the couch, my head getting ready to split open and give birth to live baby alligators.

So I forced my eyes open, grabbed the railing to the staircase and forced my way up. No Anna, she was gone.

"Olaf?!"

"Yes Michael, how may I help you?" There was something in his voice. Was he,... pissed at me?

"Where's Anna?"

"She is currently at the Zahir's, should I try to contact her?"

"No, she's in good company. This can wait until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow may be to late, Michael. Her shuttle leaves at first light."


	19. Base of the Pillar

My head was pounding as I ran, I hoped I was running the right way. With the nebula there was plenty of light, but my mind was gone. A foggy blur that made colors and shapes run together. I had to hurry, to say I was sorry, was I sorry? There was something that was making my feet go in this direction, what was driving me? Something the Doc said, something about focus, or points, or light. Shit I don't know. I don't know anything right now, I just have to run, this way...

Then I seen it, the shuttle taking off. It was too late. She was on it, and she was gone, for good this time.

Forever.

I collapsed to my knees and rolled over onto the ground. I didn't care if I died right in that spot, because I had no desire to go on living.

"Michael,..Michael, are you alright? What's up, friend?" It was the Zahir's, I think they carried me home, I remember going thru the door and falling on the couch and them mumbling something to the effect of how can we help.

"You can help by leaving me the fuck alone!" That drove them away, and it was the start of the slide into deep depression. They did try. People would come over, even Dr. Black Fucking Forest or whatever her name was, I didn't care. I'd just throw something violently at the window; "Go fuck yourselves!" Fucking window didn't even have the decency to break.

Dishes began to pile up, I didn't give a shit about recycling them, or clothes, or anything else. I rarely bathed, I didn't shave, or look in a mirror, I didn't care about me anymore. I ruined it. I was handed the keys to paradise and I flushed them down the toilet. I only ate when I absolutely had to. I was emaciated and looked like death.

Sweet, sweet, death. When will you finally come to rescue me from my pain?

* * *

I had no idea how much time had gone by, days, weeks, months maybe? I don't know. And where was fucking Olaf? All that fake concern, the piece of shit. I haven't seen him in forever. Finally, I stopped eating altogether, and the starvation was affecting my eyesight, and I was slowly going blind. The thing that bothered me the most is I didn't have the courage to end it all.

Lead these people. What a joke! I couldn't hang on to a woman who was intentionally designed to love me. I threw it all away, for nothing. The lights finally started to fade out completely, when the door opened.

* * *

"OH.. MY...GOD!"

"Did something die in here?!" I was hearing voices, but I don't know who's they were, or if I was even alive.

"Alright, start throwing stuff in the replicator and hit recycle. You, and you,... get him in shower- holy shit!- he wreaks!" Anna? Was that Anna's voice? That sweet song that I missed so much, were we both dead? I felt what seemed like two burly arms carry me up the stairs and throw me in the shower, clothes and all. I don't know if they would've come off without the help of some water. Then I felt a pair of delicate, slender hands take my clothes off and clean me up. I could only make out fuzzy shapes, was it her? Now washed up, it was back to the floor. I felt this very sharp pain in my arm.

"Once we get a couple bags of glucose in we'll be able to transport him."

"Thanks Abzari." Doc, is the doc here? I was starting to come around with the bag of liquid energy.

"Michael, can you hear me? Anna is here to rescue you. We will be taking you to my house for your recovery." Anna. did he say Anna was here?

"Just relax, we're here to help. Alright, gents. Come and get him." I don't remember anything after that.

* * *

I awoke to a giant pair of eyes, right in my face. I could feel the breeze from her eyelashes when she blinked. It was her, my Anna had come back to me.

And now for the consequences...

"But I thought you were..."

"A popsicle? Nope, I was staying with a nice Chinese couple, the Duc Li's. Learned some Tai chi while I was there, good people."

"So this was all a game?"

"No Michael, this is not a game. This is life, and it would mean a lot to me if you would join us in it. First off, I AM NOT A THING! I am a sentient being who came into the universe a little differently than you. That doesn't make me any less of a person. I have value, and by the Maker I'm going to do something with the hand I've been dealt. While you were wallowing away in self loathing and pity, I was taking on your role, the role you could've played if you didn't see me as a toaster." She was pacing the floor as she talked, I've never seen her so serious.

"Apparently everyone is into this whole princess thing and now they want me to be their leader. A job I said I'd accept, but only if you were there by my side. I am not complete without you. I said that in the beginning, and I mean it now. But you will treat me with the respect I deserve." She was poking a finger in my chest at this point. Talk about growth, holy shit! She was a tower of strength, with big, giant lady balls.

"So this whole thing was to teach me a lesson?"

"Yep."

"Was everyone in on it?"

"Yep, Ms. Swartzbaum, the Zahir's, even Olaf,... well especially Olaf."

"Was this his idea?"

"Nope, this one was all mine."

"I could've died."

"Not a chance, Silly Pants. We kept an eye on you,... but the smell?, that was a complete surprise."

"Of course,... the spying."

"Remember, I made a mess of that point too, so I'm not completely without fault here. But I did want you to suffer, to feel the pain I felt. I feel pain, Michael, just like you. Physical and emotional, just like you. I want you to respect that as well. If I had to run your balls thru a wringer to get you there, so be it."

"I can't help but love you." I was defeated, they had won once again. There would be no fighting this battle any more.

"I have always loved you." We embraced for the first time in months. This felt good, we were equals, the goal I had been shooting for all along. She was beautiful, loving, and now she was wise, and a pillar of strength.

My Usle.

Things would be different from here on out, and I'm OK with that. Or so I thought. I once again slipped into the unconscious world and slept.

* * *

My body had basically been destroyed. My muscles had withered away. My eyes had sunken into my head. Why did they let me go so far down? The whole plan was to teach me a lesson, not turn me into an invalid. There must be some grand design here, and Anna wasn't discussing it with me. There's some plan at work, but I'm just gonna' have to roll with it. I hope it's nothing sinister, for I no longer have the strength to fight it. Just then Anna steps in the door.

"Looks like you're going away for a while."

"What do you mean? Didn't I just get back?"

"Well, in case you haven't looked in a mirror lately, you're a wreck!"

"So what's the plan? Spa trip?"

"You're going back to the Masters for a complete overhaul."

"What? I could just stay here and work out, couldn't I?"

"Michael, these people need leadership, someone who is strong, fearless, and cunning. Currently you are none of those things. I love you, so much, but these people have chosen me to lead them. I want you there with me. Olaf said the Masters want to give you another chance, but they will only go so far. This is your last chance, Michael, and mine as well."

"What does that mean, _your_ last chance?"

"If you can't recover, there is no reason for my existence."

"They would kill you?!" The words left my tongue like I poured gas on it, set it on fire, then finished up with a battery acid cocktail.

"Recycle,... is the phrase they used." My God, the implications of this. If I don't get my act together we'll both be dead.

Looks like the roles have reversed. At the beginning I was the Father, Now she is the Mother. This is an unmitigated disaster.

"OK, what do I have to do?"

"You'll be gone for three months, you'll be in stasis for nearly the whole time. When you get back, you're going back to school. Martial arts training. Leadership courses. Military strategy- and most important- dance and etiquette lessons." Then she leaned in and kissed me, batting her eyes oh so slowly, along with a wink.

"You've gone totally Joan of Arc on me, haven't you?"

"Yea, what'cha think of me now, Silly Buns? But I plan on sticking around a little longer than she did."

"It would be impossible for me to love you more right now."

"I have always loved you." She climbed into bed with me. I did not have the strength to make love with her. But we were together, and being patient is something I always tried to teach her. Now I'll be gone for three months while she puts together the first new monarchy in centuries.

"I guess they want you to be their Queen."

"Yes, Michael, and you will be their King, but first we have to make you into one. You said it before and I still believe it. We must make this work. They need a strong leader. Unfortunately, appearances still mean something, and you have to _look_ like a leader. Besides, I think I'll like what they got in mind."

"I really don't like the sound of that."

"Well suck it up, numb nuts! You got the woman you wished for, now I'm getting the man I wished for. Goodnight, your shuttle leaves first thing in the morning." With that, she kissed me on the cheek and left the room, I would not see her again for a very long time.


	20. Beefcake

_A/N,_

 _OK, this is where things get dicey, and just downright mean. This chapter contains sexual violence, fair warning. I tried to be as descriptive yet delicate as possible, but it can be interpreted in a myriad of ways._

 _Just keep reading. Remember,... Gun/Mantle/Third act/Boom. I am going somewhere with this._

* * *

I woke up in the same white room as before, and just as pain free. The mirror was already there this time, they knew I'd want to see the latest update of Michael 3.0.

"Oh shit! She turned me into Hans!" Well, I didn't have his face, apparently she was still happy with the one I had, but my physic was all beefcake. I was maybe twenty five centimeters taller, and about fifteen centimeters broader at the shoulders. Clothes off again, just look at those pecks! Hmmm, junk looks the same. Guess she was OK with that, too.

Anna, you devilish fox you. She tricked the Masters into a rebuild of me. By letting me turn myself into a pile of garbage. It was a risky gambit, but it worked. Now I was a Man-Hunk. I looked like I could be a king. Now to become one.

"So what do you think of the new you, Michael?" Olaf was there in his role of guide once again. Apparently he's gotten used to the nudity.

"Seems a bit much, so how long did this actually take?" The answer would blindside me.

"Approximately one and a half of your years."

"YEARS?!" Oh my God no, what has she done? Lies, nothing but lies! I must remain calm, I don't want to show my hand to Olaf.

"Please Prince Michael, we must leave, the Queen is anxiously awaiting you, and you do not want to make her angry." It's just as I feared, or worse.

The shuttle made it's approach, and once again I couldn't see out. When it landed it made a metallic clang sound. We didn't land on dirt. The gate opened into a giant courtyard, with high walls which looked like poured concrete, large spired watch towers on the corners and a very large gate in the middle. I knew what I'd see before I turned around. Yep, nailed it. A medium sized castle, looking somewhat like the one in Frozen, but it was stark, no rosemaling could be seen, or any decor, banners, flags, and barely any windows.

"Ah, the future King has finally arrived. Well, look at you! Mm, Mm, Mm,... that's as fine a piece of horseflesh as I've ever seen!" Anna walked up to me and smacked me on the ass. What happened?, why'd I agree to this? Oh yea, right. I was a ball of nothing before I left. She had me right were she wanted, helpless, and she looked positively evil.

"Guards!, escort Prince Michael to my chambers. We have some 'business' to attend to."

My God! This is a horror, I must be dreaming. Rows of metallic automatons entered the courtyard from a small door in the castle. There would be no fight here, it'll have to wait.

Two of the 'Clankers' broke ranks and grabbed me by the arms with a vise-like grip, I struggled only to show my displeasure. They looked like suits of armor, how fitting. As I was dragged into the castle, it gave me the impression of a prison. There were no decorations of any kind. Dreary brown walls, lit by fake torches. If the main foyer looks like this, then what do the dungeons look like? Did this place even have dungeons? Just then I heard the screaming,... guess that answers that question.

Monster. this woman has become a monster, and it's my fault. I seen this coming, and did nothing.

She acted like it was just a game, but it wasn't, it was a prelude to tyranny. I must stop her, but I must be patient, bide my time, and strike at the first opportunity.

As I was led up the stairs, she made her first mistake. Being led down the hall to her bedchamber, I counted the steps and doors. I know were you live, bitch. The guards threw me in the room and locked the door.

I heard the key in the lock, and she entered. I saw two guards posted at the door. She had two orbs that followed her in, I guess I didn't want to know what they were programmed for. She was dressed similar to Elsa's ice dress, but it was all black, the slit going way up to her waist. The flowing cape didn't have snowflakes in it, they looked more like hourglasses, ugh,... The Black Widow. She had cut her beautiful hair very short, dyed it jet black. All meant to be very intimidating, of course.

My Anna. The bringer of death. And suffering.

"So what is this business? What do you want to discuss?"

"I don't want you to say anything, big guy."

"Anna, I don't..."

"SILENCE!, you will refer to me as Queen Anna and you will take me right now, or I swear, I'll drag one of our 'subjects' from the dungeons, and flog one to near death every twenty minutes until you do!"

Now I was angry, she turned this paradise into a jail, all with the help of the Masters, of course. I knew it was wise to not trust them. There was nothing I could do to help my people, except go thru with it. Fine. But she didn't say how she wanted it, and I was in the mood for a good ravaging.

I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and threw her face first on the bed. Then I took my left hand and pinned her down at the base of the neck. Bet ya' wished ya' hadn't made me so strong right now, huh bitch?! I ripped her cape off and raised her skirt, then tore off her tiny undergarments. Putting my hand between her legs I pulled her backside into the air. I also found out she was quite aroused, I wanted to stick that hand in boiling water, just to clean off the filth.

I took my pants off, and she didn't move. I climbed on top of her, pinning her head down with my foot, shoving her head far enough into the mattress to make it tough to breathe.

I hammered her as hard and fast as I could, hoping her pleasure would be kept to a minimum, which wasn't a problem, it had been a very long time. I finished fast and messy. As I climbed off her, I hit her ass hard enough to leave a hand print, and knock her flat on the bed.

I put my pants on and started to leave, the doors already opening.

"I hope you enjoyed that one, Olaf,... and be sure to save me a copy."

Then the guards escorted me to my 'room'.


	21. Tyrant

_A/N, Warning for violent content._

* * *

My room was just one floor down on the end near the staircase. While it was a spiral like in the Arendelle castle, it too was plain, and looking like concrete. I've seen cheerier looking buildings in East Germany back in the day. What happened to her? I know she was a fast learner, but this? It defied explanation. They brought me down for dinner at the Queen's table. It was very long and black, with these ghastly crows feet looking chairs. Everything about this place had this dreary, foreboding feel. It literally sucked the energy from my body.

She sat at the far end,... good. It's so far away you'd need an intercom to have a conversation, and the only thing I want to tell her right now is how much I want to wrap my fingers around her neck, and snap it like a chickens.

"More food!, where are my servants?!" She ate like a pig, it was disgusting. Although she made my stomach turn, I knew I had to eat. I'm not making that mistake again.

Even with replicators and robots at her disposal, she had several female handmaidens. They were probably working for release of their mates out of the dungeons. She was continuously screaming at them, how can she possibly treat people in this manner? Anger seethed in my brain, I can't wait until I can finish her.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to be excused, Queen Anna."

"Very well,... guards!, escort the Prince to his room. And be ready by noon tomorrow, I have a special treat just for you." Then she gave me a wink, God I hope it wasn't more sex.

In my room I had time to think, to come up with a plan. But I've never had to instigate a coup d'état. She would be hard to get close to, except during sexcapades. I was checked for weapons just before I entered the Queens chambers, could I snap her neck before the guards rush me? They were watching very carefully today, apparently they can tell the difference between rough and death.

Time to study the room, I pulled the curtains back only to find a window that was molded into the wall. It looked like ice, the irony was not lost on me. It was somewhat opaque, so I only knew daytime and nighttime. Unlike most of this hell hole, there was some decor here. A normal lamp with a shade, the bed was covered with a dark blue comforter and sheets, with a ruffly pillow. The walls were a plain tan color- but like in the movie- they had wainscotting with a border going around the perimeter. Hmmm, there has to be a reason for this, what was this about? Wait!, now I remember! I ready a story about secret passages that was a feature of all castles. If you wanted to survive, that is.

Castles got attacked, and having a hidden way out could mean the difference between life and death. Hmmm, this could be tough. with replication tech, they could make a nearly seamless doorway. I've got time on my hands, but only so much. These people are suffering.

So the doorway wall can be eliminated, it's too thin for a passage, it may also be in the floor, or part of the bathroom. So I started pouring over every square centimeter of the place.

Six hours or so and nothing. The bad news is I don't know if their spying on me right now. I have to try. I have to save them.

This is my fault. I created that monster. Is my own mind like that?, is there a tyrant laying in wait if I ever get into a position of power? Is this the work of the Blue Haired Girl? Within a year and a half, she has an iron grip over these people. Soon there will be children, what will their lives be like under the thumb of that evil bitch? Hopefully they'll have the good sense to not reproduce. But humans being what they are...

Just before I was ready to pass out, I found a chink. The baseboard near the bath door in the corner had a slight indentation in the top, I bet I looked at this piece seven times. As I pressed down on it, a short section of the baseboard folded out, it appeared seamless before. At the bottom of the paneling, was a cutout that I could put my fingers in. On the backside was a latch, but what if it was booby trapped? I had to take the chance, this has to stop. Only it's gonna' be real hard to kill her if I'm dead.

Here goes nothing,... click! The tiny doorway opened. It was behind the bathtub, and all the plumbing could be seen. There were no lights inside, but the reading lamp on the nightstand was self powered. It was an awkward size, but beggars can't be choosers. The bad news was it was getting late, although I had to see if it would take me to the Queen's chamber. Here we go. It was tight, I would yet again curse my new beef-cakiness. I left the shade as a marker to my room.

Thank God this building was new, one sneeze from a bunch of dust and it's over. I must accomplish this, she must die. Her death would have to be swift, so I'm going to need a weapon of some kind.

At the end of the passage was a tight spiral stairway, going both up and down. What to do? I'll go down first, just to explore. I'd have a better chance of finding a weapon by going down.

OK, all the way down, dungeon level. I was faced with the same narrow passage. The first door I came to had voices on the other side, so I kept going. Three doors down and silence. I waited a few minutes just to be sure. Click... It opened into what appeared to be officers quarters. same dinginess as everywhere. But I don't remember seeing any human soldiers. besides, there just aren't that many humans to start with. Do the Aliens hang out in here?

Looking around there doesn't appear to be...Wait!, a knife! Oh, I can't believe my luck. Twenty centimeters of blade ought to do the trick, to pierce thru that cold, black heart. I take it and leave quickly. There's no time left. I need a few hours of sleep, just to keep up appearances. I must be patient, but every fiber of muscle longs to plunge this blade in her.

"Bring forth the next couple." Queen Anna decided to parade all her subjects before us to swear allegiance to the new future king. She had them all in a makeshift pen inside the courtyard. I hope someone has the courage to tell her what to do with that allegiance. I very quickly regretted that thought.

"Do you swear your allegiance to the King and Queen before you?"

"No,.. we do not. This is not what we prayed for. We prayed for deliverance, not to be brought before the Devil!"

"Guards, seize them! And give him twenty lashes. Make sure she watches." No, she cannot possibly be this sadistic. I was wrong. The Clankers just didn't have quite the wrist action needed for a good flogging, and it was not painful enough for the Queen.

"UGHHH!, do I have to do everything myself?! You tin cans suck!, gi'me that!" So she started to beat the man herself, and she was way too good at it, every lash had him screaming, and his mate matching his screams.

"I will grind every single one of you insects under my heel until I have ALL your loyalty." My eyesight started to fade as I was nearly passing out. But I sat there starring at this stoically, my fading vision my only saving grace. My blood was boiling in my silent rage. All I could see now is that blade piercing her between the ribs.

"Now take him down to the dungeon and put him in the rack, he looks like he could use a good stretch, and make sure...wait, put her in the other rack, and put them face to face, let's see who's arm pops out first!" This is the worst horror imaginable, she has gone completely mad.

I...MUST...STOP...HER.

* * *

I had to service her again, that was my sole role now, Boy Toy. I made it as boring as possible, and we never said a word. I didn't eat with her tonight, and I thanked my lucky stars. So they just threw some bread in my room, I guess the Queen was displeased with my performance. No matter, I only had a few hours to live anyway. Once it was dark, I crawled thru the passage, and went up this time. I counted the meters hoping I could get close. She was easy to find, her drunken yelling at the servants gave her away.

So I waited. I suffered thru a few hours of silence then I cracked opened the tiny door. Jackpot! It was the queens chamber. I waited a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the light. The ship was in orbit of a gas giant for refueling, so there was plenty of light. Besides, I wanted her to know who her attacker was before she died. There was no movement in the room. I assumed she kept the orbs out, there was no need to spy on her, she was working for them.

This was it. I crept up to her bed and waited, if she cried out, the guards would be in here before I could finish her. I didn't care about after. I knew I was going to die, but I didn't care. I was dead a long time ago.

I leaped up on the bed, covering her mouth and pinning her arms with my knees. As her eyes opened I could see the fear in them, I wanted to relish this moment for as long as I could, but it only brought back the memory of happier times, as I saw the tears in those big, beautiful eyes form. But there was no time to relive the past- my life is finished- and it was time for her to taste my blade.

"I swear I love you, but your days of tyranny are over!"

So I took my hand from her mouth, it joined the other hand on the handle on the knife, and I plunged the blade into her chest as hard as I could.


	22. The Test

She let out a blood curdling scream as the blade swung to it's final destination, hopefully in a heart chamber. As much as I hated what she has become, I didn't want her to suffer, well not too much anyhow. As the blade neared her chest, there would be no way to stop it now, the deed had already been done, and the people of the Ark would be free.

Once the blade was a smidge above her heart, it exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. The shards nicked me all over, including the face. She however was untouched, and still very much alive. The impact blew me off her and onto the floor, the doors swung open and guards had me in their grasp. I had failed, and now I would probably die, or worse.

"Congratulations, 'King' Michael, you passed! I'm so happy for you, sweetheart!" She ran up to me and gave me a big kiss and a hug, then when she backed off she was stomping her feet, pumping her fists in the air, and sounding just like the excited little girl she used to be.

"You shoulda' seen your face!, you were all like, 'GRRRRRRR!', and so soon too, I love you!" My jaw was on the the floor, what the fuck just happened here?

"Queen Anna, what's going on here? I just tried to murder you, and you're standing there looking like you just won the lottery!"

"Oh, you can just shit-can that Queen stuff, and in a way, I just did!" Her voice went into that childish high squeak. She could barely contain her excitement.

"Am I on crazy pills?, ANNA, I JUST TRIED TO KILL YOU!"

"No Prince Michael, you sacrificed your life for your people, and saved them from a tyrant. Like any strong, selfless leader would." Her voice was now stoic, and somber.

"Oh, shit,... this was another test."

"Guards, let him go, and clear the room."

"Are you sure that is wise, your Highness?"

"Please do as I instruct."

"By your command." Then she held her hand up to her mouth and whispered; "Battlestar Galactica stuff,... pretty cool huh?" The room cleared, and we were alone.

"My God, Anna. This has to be one of the most elaborate ruses in human history, why did you go though all this?"

"We had to be sure, Michael. Keep in mind there were no battles for you to win, no countries to be conquered, no dragons to be slain, and no Excalibur to be pulled from a stone.

You were a mess, Prince Michael, and now look at you! You gave up your life for people you barely know, to save them from the same horrors they prayed to be rescued from. You delivered them from evil."

"But why you?"

"Who would you have the most problem killing, Michael? A complete stranger, or me?"

"But I watched you BEAT people!"

"Same shield technology as this necklace, he didn't feel a thing." She touched a button on the center of it and a slight shimmer appeared briefly over her body.

"All actors Michael, you said we should put on a play, what do you think of our performance?"

"I RAPED YOU!, do you hear me? I RAPED YOU! I don't know if I can ever get over that."

"Rape usually refers to an unwilling victim."

"Oh my God Anna, you enjoyed that?!"

"Well, um,... I'm sorry Michael, I do remember some of the porn you watched. Plus the fact that you are totally buff right now." She started running her fingers up my arms, then she gently wiped the blood from the cut on my face, and tasted it as she stepped back.

"Do you also remember how I avoided any porn that reminded me of you?! I couldn't bear the thought of treating you that way."

"None the less- I still liked it- at least consider breaking out that animal again."

"Anna, I don't know if I can fully recover from this, I plunged a knife into you in a murderous fervor."

"Yes,... for all the right reasons."

"This is going to take some time."

"I know, but how do you feel right now, after the fact? I don't see you drowning in tears right now." My God! She was right!, I should be in full blow meltdown mode right now. Deep breath.

"So, partners then?" It's all I could think of at the moment.

"Yes."

"Ugh... I can't help but love you."

"And I have always loved you."

Kisses, hugs, joy. They would slowly return. Once again, another life changing event. But I have some mighty big shoes to fill, and this is not over yet.

I spent the night in my room. Anna was camped out in the room beside mine. She wanted to be close, just not in the same room as I. Truthfully, I was all for this idea. We needed some space, just not too much space. We went down to the kitchen in the morning, it was all medieval looking, disguising the replicator. Breakfast was kinda' somber, but it was time for some questions.

"So, how was all this planned out?"

"We had a few meetings when you were,...away. They voted for me to be Queen."

"But why a monarchy? It seems kinda' old fashioned, and tyrannical, as demonstrated over the last few days."

"That's the thing, Michael. When things go bad, monarchies suck, and history is full bat shit crazy monarchs. But when the King and Queen are benevolent, they have the best track record of any government style in history. We have done some research while you were away."

"Speaking of away, just how long was I gone?"

"Four months."

"You said it would be three, and Olaf said I was out for eighteen."

"Well,... we had some problems getting this joint ready, and they said they could tack on an extra four centimeters to your height." She was squirming when she said this.

"Your totally into this beefcake thing, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry, Michael. This is what I'm physically attracted to." She was once again running her fingers slowly up my arm, with a look of allure in her eyes.

"So,... You didn't like me before?"

"Did I ever once appear to not like you, until you went off the deep end? I loved you then, I love you now. I'm just more attracted to you in this form. Your brain chose this form- ya know- the one with the freckles, and the tiny breasts?"

"OK, far enough. Just keep in mind, this is not my ideal self."

"Good point, this isn't about you, it's about them. When you look at yourself in the mirror, think about how the people will look at you, this is to keep them satisfied, and me?, just as a bonus. OK?"

She is becoming a treasure trove of wisdom, at the age of eight months. Ten years from now, she will be a formidable queen.

"I guess I'm not in any position to argue, I should be swinging on a rope at noon."

"And instead, we have a coronation to plan, King Michael, and a wedding!"

"Hopefully not here!"

"Yea, speaking of which, we'll be going back home for a month or so while Castle Greyskull here gets a makeover."

"How much say do I get in the remodeling?"

"Practically none, I'm going to be the Queen, Hunky Man." With that she sat in my lap, and stroked my stubbly face, while batting those giant lashes at me.

"Deal, but I want a large study, somewhere where my big speakers can breathe. And a sign on the door that says; 'No Girz Aloud'."

"Deal, shake on it?"

"Done and done."

"There's some things I want to show you before we leave, come on!" So we go out to the back green space, it was all fenced in meadow, off to the side was an outbuilding, a stable. She was practically skipping out to it.

"Whatcha' think, huh?! Can I bargain or what?!" It had stalls for eight horses. Wow, she could sell ice cubes to Inuits.

"I told them Royalty simply had to have horses."

"I suppose I'll be learning to ride?"

"Damn straight!"

"But so will you."

"I was born to ride." That you were, Princess.

"Got one more thing to show you." She took me to a large set of doors in the courtyard.

"Ya ready?"

"Hit me." She opened the doors,... Bicycles! A dozen of them, even had one in my frame size, which was now quite large. These were the lightest bikes I've ever felt. When I went to pick mine up to get it out of the rack, I practically threw it in the air, I guess it weighed two kilos.

"Thank you, Anna."

"I know how much you wanted one,..and after all you been thru..." God, how absolutely selfless can one person be? Ten hours ago I was plunging a knife into her.

"I'm assuming you don't know how to ride one of these things?"

"Way ahead of you, Silly Buns." She hopped on one and took off around the courtyard.

"I've been practicing."

"So I see." She didn't want me showing her up when I got back, clever girl.

"We've got one more thing to attend to before we split,... Olaf!"

"Yes, m' lady."

"Summon the cast."

"By your command." Damn, even Olaf is on a leash.

"Let's go to the balcony." So we went back into Drearyland, up the steps and down the hall to the balcony. All of the people involved in the test showed up, in there tattered costumes. Anna shouted over rail;

"All hail King Michael!"

"Hail, King Michael!" went two hundred voices, booming off the courtyard walls, followed by cheers and clapping, I so wanted to cry, but I can't. I must show strength. I am however, finding it easier to hold back emotions now. So I just waved- but I have to wonder- is this what they wanted? It seems like it. They all went thru with this charade, now they sing my praise.

Months ago, when I gave my speech, I figured the most authority I would get would be heading some committee. Now look at me, waving at my loyal subjects, who can't wait to led in some meaningful direction, at the dawn of a new civilization. By the future King.

Then the Princess made an announcement.

"Once the castle has received it's rightful decor, there will be a big party. Everyone in the Habitat is invited, and the drinks are on me!" Once again, cheers erupted.

"Please, go back to your homes and be at peace, I will be sure to reward each and every one of you for your sacrifice in the time of Prince Michael's trial, and from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you! Long live King Michael!"

"LONG LIVE KING MICHAEL!" It was absolutely thunderous, I'm assuming by design. we waved to the crowd and they disbanded. It was time for us to go.

"Let's put on some riding clothes, shall we?" So we got some proper attire for the ride to the Pulaski house, it was time to go home...

* * *

 _A/N._

 _So, who seen that coming? Right after when Michael went bat-shit crazy, I wanted Anna to turn completely evil. She wanted to get even with him. I wrote the first sentence, then proceeded to stare at the keyboard for three hours, while my mind went blank. I just couldn't do it. One of the premises here is that Michael has been tested. I figured why not have the ultimate test? With replication tech, building the castle was just time and some energy, something the Masters have in abundance. This production would have been a little pricey on Earth._

 _Only one chapter left in arch one! See you next week._


	23. Under the Moons Fiery Light

_A/N._

 _Once again I find myself at the end of the line. This has been a major project for me this summer (next to my Motorcycle) and really, I'm only a third of the way through. I may at some point remove the Disney elements, add some more detail and try to publish for real. This story once again hasn't really worked here among the Frozen crowd, I guess it's just too crazy. But with the lack of reviews I just don't know what to change. If you've suffered thru the whole thing I thank you. I've always wanted to bring something different to the table here at Fan Fiction, and will continue to do so. As a bonus, I've altered the ending to create a cliffhanger and borrow from part 2. Look for part 2 to start somewhere around the Thanksgiving holiday._

We set off on the trail with the wind in our hair, or what was left of it for some, I will miss my strawberry blonde girl.

Wow, it has been a long time. I stopped cycling ten years ago. When the pain got too much it was time to quit. I've always wanted to ride these perfect trails, and here we are, ear to ear grin for the both of us. This is where we should be- just absorbing the sunshine- and being free. Not worrying how we're gonna' pay the rent, or that latest medical bill, the car needs a new transmission, and on and on.

So much of our daily lives back on Earth were just like that for nearly everyone. Now for us select few, we get to pursue leisure. If you're an artist, paint. Musician? write some music. A runner? Just run, and keep on running like Forest Gump, till ya can't run no more. Pursue your passions,... be free.

But for Anna and I, we had responsibilities. We had a kingdom to run. The good news is our duties would be light for now, knock on wood. Just make a few decisions here and there. Pick our flag, what color should the castle be? Who can get married first. Pretty light weight stuff.

There's not a chance in hell it's gonna' be that easy.

During my trial, there was something familiar about what happened. So I decided to play twenty questions.

"Anna, there was something familiar about The Trial, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Who came up with the script?"

"Some of it was my idea, I tried to do every evil queen in written fictional history, but what you did was based on a video game."

"What?! That was worse than Grand Theft Auto!, what sinister game did you base it on?"

"The Legend of Zelda." I tried to shake the words I just heard out of my head.

"How on earth did you come up with that?"

"Think about it, Michael. Search for a key to a locked door, explore the passages, find the weapon you need to defeat the boss. Find your way to the boss, and destroy it to move on to the next level."

"So you planted the knife?"

"Actually, there were several weapons scattered thru the castle. I'm really glad you didn't find the hatchet, the idea of being bludgeoned in the skull scared me, personal shield or not."

"That's OK, I would have just hacked you to pieces."

"That's not very reassuring."

I remember that game, the Ocarina of Time. I came home from work and played every night till midnight for a month, and was so sad when I finally got to the end, and had to say goodbye to Princess Zelda.

Oh shit,... I have a princess fetish. On earth, this epiphany would mean it's time to see a therapist, and here, I'm marrying one. That's kinda funny, and I snickered to myself.

"What's so funny?"

"I just realized that I have a serious jones for princesses! The Legend of Zelda was about a princess, several movies that are my all-time favorites have princesses. Ugh,...Why!?"

"Yea, it is a strange thing to be on your all-time favs list."

"Just like the old saying, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!" She about wrecked her bike slugging me in the arm. We were slowly coming back, and just being us. So we turned the corner to the trail that led to the house, finally... Home.

We got in the door and I could just feel the tension melt away, she was here, with me, at last. And still typical Anna. Shoes and socks came off immediately. The house had a staleness to it though. Houses don't like it when no one lives in them, it's like they die a small death. Speaking of death,...

"Hey Stinky Feet!, wanna' crack some windows?"

"Excuse me!, I am a princess, and my feet do not stink. They smell like a flower garden." Being the limber creature she was, she jammed her foot right in my face, smashing my nose. While it was sweaty, it still smelled like lavender. She was all sugar and spice.

"OK, I get it, you know I'm just jerkin' your chain, but seriously we need to open some windows." So we set about airing the place out. Then it was time to see if any of my equipment still worked, it's been a half year since any of this has been on. I put on some light jazz and just laid back on the couch. I closed my eyes and was just starting to enjoy the peace, when...

"OK, so what do you want to do with the rest of the day?" So I got up, put my hands in her armpits and picked her up, hmm, this is now effortless. I took her to the couch and told her quite forcefully; "SIT DOWN!" She slowly settled into the couch, starring at me the whole time.

"What we are going to do is sit the fuck down, and we are going to fucking relax. In case you haven't been paying attention to current events, the last few days have been a little stressful, as I had to plot the murder of the woman who I love dearly." I got right in her face, and I'm sure with my new stature, I was quite intimidating.

"You're right Michael- I'm sorry- I guess I was viewing this from the actors side of things."

"That's the point, Anna. You would've won an Oscar for your performance. For me it was very real, and very heartbreaking. When I looked into your eyes for that last time, I wanted that moment to last forever."

"Michael, I have a confession to make. When I screamed last night, it was real. I genuinely feared for my life. The shield may not have worked, and I was terrified."

"The worst part is, you made the decision too easy. My only solace was knowing I would have joined you in death."

"No, the guards were instructed not to harm you in any way."

"WHAT?!, why would you do that?!"

"Because this is not about me. These people would still need a leader. That leader is you."

Selfless, to the end. My God, I hope these people realize what they're getting. The Anna who made a choice to save others, instead of herself. This time in real life, and not on the big screen. She'll be one for the history books. And two thousand years from now some child will be sitting in a classroom reading a story about the great Queen Anna, the first.

"I don't think I could do this without you."

"I felt the same way, that's why we went thru all this."

Then I looked her straight in the eye.

"I meant what I said, I did not want you to die without knowing I still loved you. You were the most foul, evil bitch I've ever been with, but all that shit couldn't keep me from loving you. But now we're here, and away from all the Royal stuff. So please, for the love of God, can we just take it easy for a few days?! And just be us?"

"Will we survive this?"

"I hope so, we've got a long way to go, but even kings and queens take vacations, and as the future king, I declare we are officially on vacation."

"Yes, your Majesty!"

"Now that's more like it. I want you to lay back on this couch, while I rub your smelly feet until this record is over, then we're gonna' get something to eat. After that we are going to do nothing for the rest of the day, understood?" She just nodded.

My favorite thing to do, nothing.

We managed to get though dinner before an interruption by my favorite thorn in my side, Olaf.

"Good evening Princess Anna and Prince Michael. We have a special astronomical event you may wish to observe tonight. A trinary moon system in orbit of the gas giant we are at is having a collision event. The smallest moon of the system is in a decaying orbit around the largest one, when it collides the results should be quite spectacular."

"Thanks Olaf, that does sound interesting,... tree house?" I said, Anna perked right up.

"Oh, hell yes! I'll get the sheets, pillows and blankets."

"And I'll get the cookies,... and towels."

It was kind of a mess, it's been a long time since we've been up here. But nothing has felt so right in so long. We made love. It wasn't super passionate, it wasn't forceful, hell, it wasn't even that exciting. But it was the best for those very reasons, it was normal, and it felt fantastic.

Then it was time to watch the show. The little moon kept orbiting the big moon faster and faster as it went down it's gravity well. when it finally touched, a giant shower of sparks were emitted, the sparks fanned out as the little moon rolled violently across it's surface, then the little moon finally exploded, sending a shower of molten rock into space, lighting up the Habitat, I was starring at it lost in deep thought.

"So what are you thinking about right now?" She said. Most of the time, guys don't have an answer, this time I did. She was curled up on my chest, with her fingers drawing little circles on it, and quite content.

"Something my mother said a long time ago; 'You can never go home again.' I never knew what she meant until now. We are never going to be the same, you and me. Maybe it'll be better, maybe it'll be worse, but it'll never be the same.

Eventually she did go home, but in a cardboard box, lined in plastic. As we pored her ashes out on that North Sea beach she frequented as a child, I thought about what she said, and now I realize she was right."

"That may be true, but I for one can't wait to take on this adventure called life with you, I have always loved you."

"And I can't help but love you." Sleep came peacefully in each others arms, under the moons fiery light...

* * *

"Mike, hey Mike, wake up! Break's over, the power's back on, you OK? You don't look so good, and who's this Onna?"

No,...No,...NOOOOOOOOOOO! This can't be happening! It was so real, all those colors. The butterflies... Her face, her beautiful face. Those eyes, our Utopia. It's gone, it's all gone. I was taking heavy, deep breaths, but it wasn't helping. I can't let them know, I'll fake it for now.

"Yea,.. um,... Tony. I'm OK. I must've really been out, haven't really slept good in the last couple of months." I damn near forgot his name.

"Well the God-damned boss wants us to work late for all the time we lost today."

"That's no fucking surprise, holy shit, am I stiff!" I made my way to the bathroom. In the dingy mirror was the face of an old, broken man. Just then I had a coughing fit. Metal ball, what did he say? Cancer? I hardly recognized the face I was seeing, the dream was so big, and so detailed, but it was quickly fading now that reality had reared it's ugly head.

I never dreamt about Frozen stuff, ever. There's a reason why I don't. because the happiness that would bring would cause a cascade into madness. You'd never want to wake up, and that's what's happening here.

"Hey Mike!, ya wanna' get back at it? we're burnin' daylight!"

"Sure thing, Rick." Wasn't that something the Doc said? Doctor Abdul, or something. Shit, it doesn't mean anything now, it was just a dream.

So I finished up the day, two hours late. I had to stop by the store, my refrigerator was all shelves, and butter. While passing thru the aisles, a scent caught my attention. I picked up the box of bar soap that I thought was its source. 'Yardley's English Lavender', hmm. I took a strong whiff of it, this is what Anna smelled like, all the time. Wait a second!, my mom bought this stuff, and since when did any living human being be able to smell in a dream? Was I confusing my mom and Anna? Ewww! I quickly set the box down, but the scent kept lingering in my nostrils.

Parked the car in my muddy driveway, the one I've been meaning to get paved. It didn't matter. None of this shit mattered. I had escaped, I was free of this everyday madness. A king, I was going to be a king. The fairy tale had come true. All this ugliness would be a distant memory, and now I had to step right back into it.

Got to the door and went to open it. I just about took the door handle off in my hands. This door required a key, I've grown accustom to doors without locks over the past several months. Doors in Utopia don't need locks. Once inside, the silence was deafening. Nobody's home, just me. I put my bag of crap in the refrigerator, I was in no hurry to eat. I didn't feel like eating ever again, I just can't do this any more. I can't look at these walls, I can't go back to that job. I can't stand this, I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more!

As I walked out into the living room, getting ready to find some new direction in what little life I had left, I see light peeking out from under the door of the shrine room. I opened the door to find every light on in the place, which is odd. I'm normally very careful about turning stuff off, old habits for an old man. Looking around in this room, in it's solid light blue color, with all it's sparkly crap, this is not helping me. I must stop the madness, it begins right here, right now.

I went outside and rolled my garbage can right inside the door, muddy wheels and all. I started to stuff all that Frozen crap in the can, all of it. The curtains, the figurines, the lamps, the cardboard cutouts, the Bluray disk, every single scrap of it. The cutouts were so big, I couldn't get them all the way into the can. Anna's sappy, smiling face was staring back at me from that can as I bumpily wheeled her thru the mud to the curb. Pickup wasn't for a few days yet, but I didn't care, I wanted to be as far away from that shit as possible.

I went back in and fired up the laptop, and opened the folder containing all my stories. 'Are you sure you want to delete this folder, and send it to the recycle bin?' Yes, I'm very sure, tap.

I went to my bedroom, and packed a suitcase. It was time to bail. I took everything from the fridge that looked like sandwich supplies and drinks and put in a cooler. everything else I'd throw away, then I unplugged it. I'm not coming back for a while, and maybe not ever. I grabbed the checkbook, cash, the little bit of gold I managed to stash away, and threw my supplies in the car. I'm gonna' put as many miles between this hell-hole and me as possible.

I was about two hundred miles in when my head started to nod, I was in the middle of nowhere, a common Nebraska thing, and was looking for a motel. When I woke up, I was about twenty feet from the bridge abutment.

Too late...

End Part One


	24. A horse, of course

_A/N, Hey! We're back! With the story everyone loves to hate. I have done some research into what people like in their fan fics, and it turns out this story breaks every rule out there. People hate POV's, OC main characters, and deviating too far from the original characters persona. It's also been brought to my attention that this story takes too long to get to the original character, I.E. Anna. So why bother bringing it back out? Well…, I made a promise to do so, and I have some stuff in the can. This will come out in dribs and drabs, or whenever I feel like it. Part 2 is not done, so it may be a while before it draws to a close. For my three or four worldwide readers of this story, I thank you for your continued support._

 _And now for Part 2 of;_

 _The Children of the Sun._

* * *

"Michael, Michael! Wake up! It's OK, you're here with me, Anna!"

"Wha,... Where am I?!" I was again ripped out of the world in which I currently existed.

"Michael, you're alright, you're safe with me." I was something of a mess, still breathing heavy, and bathed in sweat. This dream I remember vividly, as if it wasn't a dream at all. I looked in her face, and cupped it in my hands, my now giant hands. I stared straight into those big, beautiful eyes, then I hugged her so tight I was starting to crush her.

"Michael, I... can't... breathe!"

"I'm so sorry, I thought I lost you."

"You were having a nightmare, was it about The Trial?"

"No, something much worse, I had my old life back, I was back in Nebraska. You were just a piece of cardboard that I threw away in the trash."

"That sounds terrible, and you threw me away?"

"I did it here, and it was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life, there was a heavy price to pay for it too."

"It was just a dream, Michael. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you."

"No Anna, this wasn't a dream. This was a vision. It had meaning. We can't go back. We can't go back to that kind of existence ever again. All that work, and worry, and running around in circles to enriched some wealthy douchebag I'll never know. The ugliness of that world is just unbearable. The plain dingy walls, junk everywhere, mud, the strip malls, an army of people starring down at little screens, wallowing in ugliness. I don't mean their looks, but the way they feel is ugly, and it ends up on their faces. In that world I just swam in it. I was swimming in ugliness."

"The madness must be stopped. I have been charged with this crusade..., _me_. One day I'll be king, and I'm going to insure the human race never lives in that wretchedness ever again. I've been handed this power and I'm going to use it."

"Now you're starting to sound like a king, and the man I want for my husband."

"My first order of business is going to be to get rid of that ridiculous castle."

"What?!, but I had a lot of plans for that place!"

"Yes, and you can make plans for what I have in mind. We have a deal, and I will honor it. We need a campus, we will still need a much larger place, and it will need to have an air of authority. But I want it to have the look and feel of a college. A large main building, surrounded by smaller out buildings, a mall with a tree lined reflecting pool; I want beauty, not fucking guard towers and walls. Do we have architects here, Anna?"

"Yes, I've spoken with a few, and a French gentleman designed the castle."

"Olaf!"

"Yes, your Highness."

"Olaf, I want totally new designs for a campus style domicile for our headquarters, and recycle that dreadful castle. Contact all the architects we have on board, tell them they have two weeks to come up with a proposal, and have them stop by here for a visit, as I'll be giving them my vision of what I want, Anna here will be coordinating all decor."

"By your…."

"Olaf, will you please can that Battlestar shit? 'OK, Michael' will suffice for now."

"I'm glad your back, Michael."

"It's good to be back, Olaf."

And now it's time to set the design for the future, the one where humans finally decide to act like grownups.

* * *

It turned into a lazy day. There was this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I just couldn't shake. I remember feeling that way when I left the theater after a powerful movie. I was living in that fantasy, then the movie was over and reality slapped me in the face. The funny thing is, this 'reality' more closely resembles those movies, than that pitiful reality I lived in in Nebraska. I think today will be a big chocolate chip cookie day...

* * *

The next day I was out on the veranda at the crack of dawn, enjoying a cup of tea and the typical morning air. The Princess was at her usual for this time of the morning, sawing logs.

Ya' know that feeling after you have a car wreck? Imagine that feeling every waking minute, every day, for decades on end. That's what my former life was. Now it's starting to creep back. I was really comfortable with the idea of Anna squirting out babies for a half century while I kicked back and watched the new world go by.

That was my job, baby maker. Now look what I've done, a king. How did I manage this? Was this the Masters plan all along? Is this the reason I got the Anna I did?

We needed a direction, someone to set us on the path of the future. Free from the lust for power, material goods, profits, and the control of others.

Those are the things that thrust the world into such a dark place, but it's in our nature. Evolution had a purpose, to weed out the weak, and make sure the species survived. It was a hard and cruel way to do business, but it worked. The bad news-however- was that survival of the fittest is no longer needed. Evolution on Earth had reached its pinnacle in us, or so we thought.

Yet we are still those snarling beasts, stomping on each other to climb to the top, but the top of what? A big pile of one's and zero's on a hard drive somewhere? To make people you feel are beneath you beg and scrape for the right to exist? There just has to be more to life than this.

What were the Masters on earth so afraid of? They controlled us thru our minds, made us believe we had to buy their crap, see their doctors, invest our hard earned money with them. Just so they could steal it all back.

The chains of debt. They were no different than those made of iron, and nobody even noticed. I must change all that. My vision had a purpose, it had divine providence. I do feel different after this last trip to the 'Tube'. They have changed the way I think, maybe. Or is it this new body that has given me confidence, and will it last? If I fall apart now, it'll spell the end. This is where the anxiety is starting to come back. There's a lot of pressure here to get this right.

I decided Princess Anna and I need to make a bicycle tour of the Habitat and meet every single couple in it. We're still going to take a few days off- I need a break- and I want for Anna and me to get thoroughly reacquainted. She's a different person now and growing very rapidly, maybe a little too rapid. The "Evil Queen" was pretty scary, and I'm always going to have that image in the back of my mind.

This existence is very fragile, any number of things could destroy it, and it's Anna's and my responsibility to make sure an entire civilization survives and flourishes.

No pressure there.

Anna had crawled out of bed and joined me on the veranda. I thought I was seeing things; her hair had gone back to its strawberry blonde.

"What's with the hair? I thought you dyed it."

"That wasn't dye, check this out!" She disappeared for a second into the bathroom and came back with a wand in her hand.

"So what would you like, how about platinum blonde?" She turned a dial on the wand and then passed it over her head, she looked like Elsa.

"Or maybe brunette?"

"Not really you."

"OK, what about blue?" When she did this, I swear I turned white. It was her, the Blue Haired Girl from my dream.

"What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I just did."

"Something you're not telling me?"

"Several years ago I had a dream that I was looking in a mirror and the reflection I saw looks exactly as you do now. I awoke in a pool of sweat and I couldn't get back to sleep. I had a conversation with Olaf about this and he said the buried personality that girl represents is what they made you from. As it turns out, all humans suffer from multiple personality syndrome, we've just got good at burying them deep into our subconscious."

"Has she reappeared, I mean, in another dream or otherwise?"

"No, well..., I don't think so; I'm not sure, really. I try not to think about it." The bad news is trying or not, I think about it all the time now.

"Oh..., I can see how that could be disturbing, I'll change it back." The look on her face showed her discomfort, and she wanted to change the subject.

"So what's on today's agenda?"

"I figured you'd want to go on a horse hunt."

"Stellar idea!, it's been a long time since we did that."

"But now we have a tactical advantage."

"What's that?"

"Bicycles, we'll be able to cover more ground that way."

"Guess those were a good idea."

"I'm also going to decree as King that everyone gets one. We need to be able to get around this joint."

"As Queen I'll agree." Some of things I'd do might seem socialist, and crammed down people's throats, the very things I despised on Earth. But things were different here, and doing things very differently is just the way it's going to have to be.

So we set out to the meadow where the horses were known to frequent. We also brought another secret weapon..., Olaf. He could fly up and scan for them. Originally when we went out, we wanted to be alone, but this is starting to take on some urgency. Anna is desperate for one of these creatures.

Olaf got himself some altitude and Eyeballs tracked him, while we sped off on our machines. Olaf led us right to a pack of them; there must have been twenty in the fold.

When we got close, most of them bolted, except for one. He was all black and the biggest of the herd, I assume he was the alpha male, as he had the balls to confront us. Anna got off her bike and gently set it on the ground, never loosing eye contact with him.

"Be careful Anna, he looks pretty big." I whispered.

"I know what I'm doing." OK, Ms. Know-it-all. She took off her backpack and got out a rope that already had a noose in it. She coiled it and slung it over her shoulder so she would have both hands free. As she approached him, she did the strangest thing I've ever seen her do, and she's done some crazy shit.

She took both of her hands and stuck them into her armpits and rubbed them around for a second. Then she got real close to him and cupped her hands in front of her. With a deep breath she blew across her hands and into the horses face…, and a strange calm came across him. Anna took the rope off her shoulder and put the loop around his neck, he never even flinched.

"See?! I told you I knew what I was doing!" As she led the horse to Olaf and me, my jaw made a clunk sound as it hit the ground. Anna was a horse whisperer.

Before she got too close I whispered to Olaf; "We are going to have to have one of those long conversations again, Olaf."

"I take it you find this disturbing?"

"That about sums it up."

"I'm taking Kjekk up to the stable; do you want to joint me?" Ha! She used the storybook name for him, shocking. But now it looks like the recycling job on the castle will have to wait.

"Na, you can take him by yourself. It'll give you two a chance to get acquainted."

"Rats!, what about my bike?"

"I will arrange transport for it to the castle, Princess Anna" said Olaf.

'Thanks, O." I don't know why she was worried about such a trivial thing. If somebody took it, they'd just be doing us a favor.

Off she trotted with him, her new best friend. But the way she did it was deeply disturbing. She was a pheromonic creature, an effect that's only supposed to work within the same species. Could she influence me that way? And that constant lavender scent…, was that somehow connected? While she's busy with Kjekk, I'm gonna' grill Olaf.

Somebody has a lot of explaining to do...


	25. Eww, that smell

_A/N, this story is now being edited with Word Starter, so it should start looking better. Better grammar and punctuation, woohoo!_

* * *

It was a lonely trek home. Olaf had some things to take care of at the castle, and Anna would be staying overnight as well, she will want to make sure Kjekk is comfortable in his new home. With this new role, Anna and I will spend a lot of time separated. It's just part of the job. But I will miss her tonight, as we just got back together. As much as that feeling pains me, I want her to follow her heart, and be free to pursue her passions.

Pursuing your passions is the right of everyone here, and that freedom starts at home. In fact, it is my belief that this is the most important thing we do here. Passions played second fiddle to work and homes and health care and family and work and work and work ad infinitum. We were so busy trying to survive that we forgot how to live, and I'm going to change that.

I just wish I had set up some communications with her. I could just go to the castle, but this is her time, and I'm going to let her have it.

As a monarchy, we must be able to communicate at all times. Olaf is going to need a friend. The other orbs at the castle were actors, and didn't have any autonomous programming. Just more ground to cover with Olaf.

* * *

When I got home, I decided to do a little investigating. I went into the bathroom and checked over all of Anna's personal hygiene products. The good news was, since she wasn't 'activated' yet, she had no use for menstrual products. It would be a few years before I would have the delight of monthly mood swings, and I wasn't in the mood for rummaging thru those things.

What I wasn't finding was anything scented of any kind, that lavender smell was all her. I really want to hear the explanation for this one. I probably should have investigated this sooner, but there were so many other things to worry about besides how she smelled. It's going to have to wait until tomorrow, Olaf never came back.

Dinner came and went, and after several Cars records, it was time to go to bed, where I proceeded to stare at the ceiling for several hours, wondering just what influences her pheromones had on me.

In some of the stories I had written, Anna had magical powers. What I witnessed today is as close to magic as I ever want to come. Well..., that replicator comes pretty close, but that is tech designed by people that can fold space. She was casting a spell on a wild creature, like she was some kind of witch. I have a feeling these horses haven't been domesticated in some time, and now Anna comes along and makes it look like they've been tame for centuries.

They didn't even look like horses from Earth, well at least not the current batch. They have a more curved face, and the eyes were set a little narrower.

I took her pillow and set it on top of mine. That scent had permeated it, and I finally got to sleep.

* * *

Got up kinda' late, but who cares? I can't remember the last time I looked at a clock.

"Good morning, Michael. I hope you slept well."

"Not a chance in Hell, Olaf."

"What troubles you?"

"Well, let's start with Anna's ability to hypnotize wild animals, or other living creatures for that matter."

"We have been keeping this from you Michael, but I feel it's time to start sharing more info with you."

"Please, Olaf. Do go on."

"Her scent is only what the creature smelling it wishes it to be. In your mind, its lavender, in the horses mind, it might be the scent of a female he wishes to be with." Of course my mind went with the most disgusting thing I could think of, causing a bought of laughter.

"You mean like a female horse in heat, Olaf? That could be dangerous."

"Well…, no, but that is kind of funny! Don't worry; when I left them about thirty minutes ago everything was fine." I'm glad this is the first thing that Olaf found funny, although laughter still escaped him. There's nothing like some good bestiality humor, or not.

"Did she sleep in the stable?"

"Yes." Yep, perpetually Anna.

"Does the odor that she emits have an influence on me, or any other human?" There's that damn pause again.

"Yes, Michael... Please do not get angry…., that did not work out so well the last time."

My God, this is it! This is what happened to me. I didn't go crazy just because Anna left me. I was addicted to her, I probably still am. I was a junky, and Anna leaving me meant I wasn't going to get my fix anymore. There are some very serious implications to this. Any feelings I have for the woman may not be real, I was right all along, but that epiphany nearly killed me, just like a strung out heroin addict.

When she's away from me, I have this wrenching feeling in my gut. Now it is all starting to make sense. At least I'm aware of it now, and I'm just gonna' play along until I find a solution. Unlike heroin, Anna is a pretty good drug to be addicted to...

"Don't worry Olaf, I have control of that now, I've grown too. But you must understand, I find that fact a little sinister, and any plans that are behind my back are going to be a problem for me. Olaf, it is time for your people to come clean. If I am to lead these people, they must be able to trust me, and have their best interests at heart. You are going to need an intermediary between your race and ours, and it's time we meet face to face."

"We are considering it now, Michael. We didn't know at first how your hierarchy would be structured when we brought your species on board. We figured it was best to let your kind decide on its own, and personally, I think your people have made a good choice."

"The thing is Olaf; we're at an early stage here. Some of our citizens are unknown to us. One of the things I want to do is go on a meet and greet tour of all the Habitats citizens."

"Another excellent idea Michael, when do you plan to start this endeavor?"

"In about a week…, Anna's capture of Kjekk has backed up my timeline a bit."

"She is very pleased with this new development."

"I'm happy for her. This is the energy sink she needs. She'll be a stronger person for it. I have something else I'd like to bring up. I think Anna needs her own personal assistant. There will be times when we are separated and I want to be in constant communication with her."

"You missed her last night, didn't you?"

"Yes, Olaf. Thanks for pointing out that particular mental failing. If we are going to rule this place we are going to need some things above and beyond what the everyday citizen needs."

"Agreed…, I can arrange for a sentient drone to accompany..." He just stopped mid-sentence, like he short-circuited. I thought he might fall out of the air. So it begged the question;

"What is it Olaf, why the hesitation?"

"It's just that I've become attached to you both. I dislike the idea of being separated from either one of you."

"Jeeze, Olaf. You're starting to worry me with all this touchy-feely stuff!" While that got a laugh out of me, he was dead serious.

"Olaf, look... I need someone I can trust, that's you. Anna will be getting the new assistant."

"But I've been deceptive with you before, how can you trust me?"

"Because I've been learning your tricks, I know when you're bullshitting me now."

"What kind of personality should Anna's drone have?"

"I have the perfect person in mind..." So I told Olaf my plan and he took off to set it in motion. I decided it was time for some tunes as I was now alone for real. As I bent over to pull a record off the shelf I noticed a balled up sock behind the end table. Anna had a bad habit of flinging the things all over the place much to my chagrin. I picked it up and took a whiff of it. Lavender, it's such a weird smell to start with. The Masters probably went with this as it was a reminder of my mother. Kinda' freaky, but they may not have understood that you shouldn't associate someone you have sex with, with your Mom. Maybe they seen the one universal truism, _no one loves you like your mother._

I felt that calm that Kjekk must have had when Anna blew her pheromones at him. Apparently whatever stinky spot on humans is where the effect is strongest. So I decided I'd collect her socks when she misplaces them and keep one or two handy. This was a really creepy thing to do, but the upside was my addiction could be satiated while she's away. I replicated a small satchel to keep them in, and then hung it around my neck; it was something I could hide under my clothes. But I have to wonder, what does she really smell like?

Probably like a skunk stuffed with feta cheese.


	26. Elsa

Elsa.

They had downloaded every scrap of computer info on earth. They knew what she looked like, how she acted, her fears and insecurities. The desire to protect her sister, albeit rather badly.

Love.

While this is a construct that the Masters have struggled with, they were some quick learners. It's why they picked us. Olaf is learning to care. While I felt the way they treated me was shitty, the results prove otherwise. I am a better person for all their efforts. Now it was time to take some of that knowledge and incorporate it into the latest and greatest sentient orb to date, Elsa.

They even managed to change the look of this orb a bit, which I personally found kinda' funny. 'She' had a light blue color scheme and a golden crown shaped just like the one from the movie. It had a strange skirt-like cover that encircled it's backside with some icicle dangly bits that hung freely from the front part of the cover. Whatever it was, it looked fantastic. Plus they changed the grillwork and lens to give the impression of a more feminine appearance, I think they nailed it.

Anna had spent the last couple of days riding Kjekk between the stable and here. This in and of itself was absolutely amazing. With no training on either one of their parts, Anna replicated a saddle and bridle at the castles larger replicator, threw it on his back and took off. That's it. Normally this takes weeks or months. Once again she has left me baffled. I hope she plans on doing the preliminary training on whatever creature I end up riding, this is something I'm not really looking forward to.

She was gone for a good part of the day yesterday, so we haven't seen much of each other. She could tell it was starting to wear thin on me and did manage to stay here last night. The funny thing was though; Kjekk really didn't need a pen or stable. Wherever Anna was, was where he wanted to be. He would hang out around the house nibbling the tall grass. I was fine with this as he proved to be a great lawn mower, while leaving some deposits as well. I never paid much attention to what happens to the incredible amount of poo around this place. It turns out that machines come around in the middle of the night to dematerialize it, then inject it back into the soil. So that's how the trails are kept so clean!

It was time for dinner and Anna's backside was finally paining her enough to take a break from riding.

"So what have you been doing while I've been out?"

"One of the architects stopped by today to show me his design for our compound."

"That was fast, did you like it?"

"Sort of, it'll need some tweaks. I want to see all of them before I commit to one design, and maybe I can get them to collaborate on something."

"I can't wait to see the final plans!"

"Me too, I'd like to get settled." What I was about to do next would be a source of contention for the next few days.

"Anna, Olaf and I have decided you need an assistant of your own and I'd like you to meet..., Elsa." She came around the corner and stopped about a yard from her.

"You want to spy on me!?"

"No, Anna. That's not the reason for this. I want to be able to stay in touch. You are out with Kjekk quite often, and as queen, you will have duties that require separation..., and..., I miss you." She had seen my despair and came over to give me a hug.

"I'm sorry; I guess I got wrapped up in the moment. I didn't mean to ignore you."

"Honestly Anna, it's OK. I admire people with passions, and this is no different. I want you to have this horse and this freedom. But we have responsibilities now. What if you were to have an accident? You may not be in screaming range next time."

"OK, I get it." She said with something of a huff, arms akimbo. I think she was more upset that she had misjudged me. We weren't one hundred percent yet.

"Hello, Anna. I really do want to get to know you." Wow! While Olaf never really sounded like movie Olaf- shit- even Anna didn't sound like movie Anna, They nailed the voice of Elsa, it was positively freaky. Anna didn't recognize it, however. Up to this point she had only heard Elsa sing.

"You will never be my sister." Well, that's kinda' bitter.

"I know..., I'd just like to be your friend."

"Princess Anna, I personally oversaw the programming of this orb, you can trust her." Olaf decided to finally join the conversation; Elsa was kind of his 'baby'.

"That doesn't instill me with confidence, Olaf." Hmmm, this is just not like her at all. She had trusted Olaf with the Trial. Even with my own personal overhaul. Why the mistrust now?

"Elsa, can you make sure Kjekk doesn't wander off too far, I'll be heading out to the castle shortly."

"As you wish, your highness." Elsa actually sounded a bit dejected at her trivial task. Elsa and Olaf left the room together.

"Please Anna; don't take this the wrong way. No one despises their spying more than me."

"That's not true at all! You practically said quite the opposite, remember?!"

"I said I accepted it, that doesn't mean I like or approve of it." Whoops! Somebody miscalculated their argument, point me!

"UGHHH! I hate it when you're right!"

"It's OK, just take a few deep breaths and settle down, Feisty Pants." We used to use these derogatory terms of endearment all the time, I hoped it would return. I picked her up and gave her a big hug; she struggled at first, but gave in.

"I can't help but love you."

"And I have always loved you." But there was something missing in her voice. She seemed far away, lost in other thoughts.

* * *

Maybe I am approving of their spying on us. They're learning. As Anna trotted off to the castle, I could hear Elsa trying to make small talk with her, attempting to put her at ease. If they can learn from us, it may rescue their civilization. But I have to meet them first, before I can draw any conclusions.

But what is up with Anna? She just got the one thing she's been dreaming of, and now we're going down that path again. She surprised me with her anger, but maybe that's that little bit of me in there. Kinda' like when we first met. An assistant is kind of a life changing event. They're in your face usually when you don't want them to be.

Despite the fact she's reluctant for an assistant, maybe she'll see how useful one is. I would wait until the rotation into night, then...

"Oh, Olaf?"

"Yes Prince Michael, how may I be of service?"

"Being a bit formal, are we?"

"It's late, your highness. I assumed it would be official business."

"Very clever Olaf, good work. I'd like to talk to the Princess."

"One moment please, Elsa's responding."

"Yes, Michael. What is it?" Her voice was flat and monotonic. This isn't going well; I have better come up with something good. There's been a change of plan that I have been kicking around in my head, looks like now is a good time to break it out.

"Originally, I just wanted to call you and say goodnight. But I've been thinking. What do you think about keeping the castle and turning it into an arts, theater, and banquet facility? The lodge is kinda' plain and stuffy, and if you could oversee redecorating the castle to reflect something tasteful, I think it would be a good project for you."

At first I heard her sigh, she knew I was trying to smooth things over.

"Ugh..., very well; I guess I could give it a go."

"Anna, I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think it was a good idea. I know I haven't discussed this previously with you, but I've kicked this idea around for a day or so."

"Hey, I'm on my way home, Silly Buns. We'll discuss this tonight, if that's OK with you?

"Sure, I'll be waiting. See ya soon."

"I'll be back in a half hour. I'm riding the bike home; Kjekk can hang out in the meadow. End transmission."

Something is wrong. Damn females! Always a mystery, will this ever end?

* * *

She got back to the house and we were camped out in the living room, listening to some Basie, we never even got to the subject of the castle.

"I have to admit- Anna- you've been acting very strange lately. I thought Kjekk would bring some joy into your life, but that doesn't seem to be the case. So please tell me, what's wrong?"

"Have you ever wished for something..., got it, and then it turned out not like what you expected?"

"Why yes. She's about this tall, (I put my hand on top of her head) teal eyes, strawberry blonde hair, and kinda' grouchy in the morning."

Slug.

"Really? You wanna' go down that path right now?"

"When I was on earth, I was content to be alone for a very long time. Then it started to eat at me till I got kinda' sick of it, somewhere around the time you showed up."

"When was I on...? Oh, you mean the movie."

"You have my memories, didn't you see any of this?"

"Your memories get very dark just before your abduction. My memories of Frozen are more in a first person perspective. It's as if I was Princess Anna."

"Well, you are! Honestly Anna, when it comes to females, I've been rather picky, and when I wasn't, I regretted it. You're someone I didn't even choose, but I would have picked you over any female on earth. I still feel that way... I love you."

"I love you too; maybe it has something to do with the new you. Sure..., I like the hunky-man appearance, but you're not the same emotions driven man. I thought that's what I wanted, but now I'm not sure. I kinda' like the old 'Teddy Bear' you."

"Well, it's a little late for that now, sister! This is by _your_ design. I seem to remember a rather dubious plot to turn me into a train wreck- rebuild me- then test me to see if I was capable of murdering you."

"I know, I have to take responsibility for that. But you must remember, we had to be sure you were fit to be king."

"I get that, but I have a different Anna now too. You were an emotional mess, and much like a baby. I constantly felt like I was your daddy. So imagine how I felt when I wanted to have sex with you."

"Eww. Yea, that seems gross!"

"We simply have to face the fact that our relationship is going to be rocky. The way we were thrust into each other's lives is not typical. We will be in the public eye. We will constantly be watched. Sooner or later, someone will be gunning for us."

"Speaking of which, I have something for you." She went to the bedroom and came back with what looked like an ornate cigar box, it was beautiful. Then she opened it.

"It's your personal shield- with it- you'll be protected against most attacks."

"Most?"

"Well, it wouln't help you in a gas attack, but I don't yet see that as an issue with the replicators safety protocols."

"Thank you, was this your idea?"

"No, this came straight from the Masters. I got this at the same time I got mine. Obviously I had to keep it a secret, until now. We should wear these from here on out, even inside." There were some serious implications to this; the Masters thought there may be a threat to our lives.

But from what?


	27. Roadtrippin'

I awoke to find Anna on the veranda looking at my laptop with a giant mug of coffee beside her. Something else she took up while I was out.

"Good morning, Princess. What cha' readin'?"

"Some of your stories, I hope you don't mind."

"Nope, there should be no secrets between us- and since they're all about you- they should seem familiar to you."

"I caught the one where I was wearing a white dress like the one the Masters had stuffed me in when I first met you."

"Yea, I really liked that image, with the espadrille sandals..." My voice kinda' trailed off thinking of that image, with a stupid looking grin on my face. I wonder if she'll ever wear some of the stuff either I imagined or like some of the artwork that's in there.

"You've been in love with me the whole time, haven't you?"

"Yes, but it's a God-damned annoying feeling."

"How's that?"

"You were never supposed to be real. On Earth, I had to face the fact that you would never exist. Yet here we are, having this conversation, getting ready to ride around on four pound bicycles in a space ship to meet _our_ kingdom's subjects. Crazy doesn't even begin to describe this."

"It's a strange thing for me as well, but this is all I've ever known- except for the unusual memories- and I have a tough time deciphering them. The fact that I was created to love you makes it even stranger."

We've been awake on this barge for damn near a year. Well..., some of us anyhow. The things that have occurred during this short time frame have been mind numbing. Humans- or any biological life form, for that matter- are not designed for such fast paced change. Anna seemed to be able to roll with it. But now she's finding out that not everything we desire turns out the way we expect.

It was time to get on with our mission. Two hundred and thirty eight couples. Olaf was finally good enough to give me an accurate census of our population. This will take a very long time, but it must be done.

We are simply not going to have a traditional monarchy here. We will not be separated and isolated from the people. I said I wanted to have friends and I meant it. When we are not in an official capacity, I do not want to be called 'Your Majesty'. My name is Michael, and when we're are sitting around a campfire making s'mores, I don't want people feeling uncomfortable around Anna or myself.

Due to the nature of our mission, we would have to announce ourselves as Prince and Princess. This may cause some confusion amongst the populace that so far hasn't participated in any social or political gatherings, we kinda' sprung this shit on them.

"Olaf, can we get a map of all the dwellings in the Habitat?"

"You mean, like on paper?!"

"Well for me, that would be easiest, unless you have something else in mind?"

"We've been reluctant to share these with you since we know what affect they had on humans." An object appeared in the replicator. It was a tablet. It was already on once it materialized, with some strange symbols on its screen.

"Just tell it what you want, then you can navigate it much like what you're used to on Earth."

"OK..., Map of Habitat, show human domiciles." The screen was a bit on the small side, but I'm impressed that they went thru this much effort to accommodate us.

"Thanks Olaf, but this image is kinda' small..."

Olaf went up to it and said, "Show multi-dimensional image." A giant map floated in the center of the room, looking much like when Olaf showed me Anna's accident.

"If you touch it, it will move. You can also expand or contract its size." I started to manipulate the image, it was awesome! Every house was shown in great detail. Names and nationalities of the occupants were shown right beside them. This would prove to be a very valuable tool, besides being something else to play with.

"What else can this thing do, Olaf?"

"Everything…, it contains all information we took from your former world."

Olaf's spot on observation was disturbing. We had an entire planet of people mindlessly staring down at tiny screens just before I left. The Masters- and myself- didn't want that to happen here. We want for nothing. Basically we can have anything we want by merely saying some words to a machine, yet even that action has consequences. Once Anna and I went on this tour, we would find out how true this would be.

On our first time out, we would visit three couples. Olaf and Elsa talked to the assistances of everyone we would visit. I didn't want to just knock on people's doors and surprise them, although I would regret that decision a few times. I had no idea what to expect. There were many different cultures represented here, and in this environment- they may not react in what would seem the proper way. Some of these folks will need help, whether they want it or not.

We set out to the far side of the habitat. I wanted to have a somewhat random pattern to our visits. It wasn't an issue by bike; we could ride the full circle within an hour anyhow. Our first stop was a Canadian couple.

"Welcome to our home, your Highness..es." There was obviously some tension created by their attempt to address us.

"Wouln't you please come in?" Said the male.

"It was something of a surprise to us of your wish to visit here; may I inquire what this is all about?"

I'd let Anna go first, she's the diplomat. "We are going to meet one on one with all of our subjects in the Habitat. We want to make sure our people are happy and well taken care of."

"Thank you, when we were told of your visit, it frankly was a little frightening. We knew only that there was a prince and princess. We never went to any of the social functions here."

I decided to be the bad guy, and grill out some of the harder questions. "Which one of you is the Earthling?"

"That would be me." It was the female. In time I wouldn't have to ask this question as much. Usually the best looking person of the couple would be the alien; it was certainly true in my case. He looked quite normal, but a hansom normal, you know what I mean….

"So how did Geoffrey come about?"

"You know our names?" I whipped out the tablet and showed them their house.

"Oh. I don't suppose we'll be getting one of those."

"I'm sorry, no. The Masters were reluctant to give _me_ one. Unfortunately, on earth, this type of thing was an addiction that was turning the human race into a bunch of mindless zombies; I for one will not allow that to happen here. Can you please answer my question?"

"Forgive me, your Highness, I..."

"Michael, you can address me as Michael while I'm in your home. Even though we are on official business, I would like to stay away from formalities for now. I want to make friends here, and this is your home. I am merely a guest."

"Well,..um,..yes, Geoffrey here was a teacher I had a severe crush on when I was in high school." She nervously took his hand and had something of an awkward smile. She was obviously in love with him, and I already knew what his feelings were, I didn't have to ask.

"How old were you when you were abducted?" Anna asked this. We had a standard set of questions we would ask, and we would alternate so it didn't look like either one of us were being dominant.

"Ninety six." Holy shit! Did she ever get rescued from death's door! Then it occurred to me, so did I.

"What did you pray for?"

"How did you know I prayed?"

"It is a commonality among all of us Earthlings; I would just like to hear your story."

"The one thing I prayed for every day was for true love to return to the world. I remember what it was like so long ago. The world seemed like it had forgotten how to love."

"On that point Margaret, we are in agreement."

"While I loved my husband John- God rest his soul- it wasn't like what I felt for Geoffrey here. I always felt like he was a lost love." She was looking deep into his eyes; there was much happiness in them.

"So what have you two been doing since you got here, what have you done to avoid boredom?"

"Well..., we..., umm, have..."

"We've been going at it like rabbits." Geoffrey piped up.

"Geoffrey!"

"What?! I have nothing to be ashamed of. I love you, and we're all adults here."

"This is true Geoffrey. We will have to eliminate a lot of our sexual taboos in order for our new society to work; we may even have to do some interbreeding at some point."

"Wait! What?!" I apparently caught Anna by surprise. Olaf and I had this discussion a while back, and I didn't bring it up around Anna, as she was 'new', opps.

"The fact is, there are not that many of us. In order for the gene pool to function properly, we may have to intermingle our breeding partners to insure there's not any inbreeding."

"I don't think this was the appropriate time to bring this subject up, Prince Michael." Anna said with a hint of anger.

"I apologize, everyone. I admit my diplomatic skills are somewhat lacking." Margaret had a look of embarrassment on her face, time to change the subject.

"OK, on a lighter note. Margaret, what do you think you can bring to the table for our new society? What hobbies and interests did you have, and what was your occupation?"

"Well, I acquired some nursing skills during the war, but I was a housewife for many years. At the time it was an accepted practice."

"My mother was the same, but she eventually had to work."

""I really never had any hobbies, I used to knit and make my own clothes, that doesn't seem very useful right now." She was expressing a type of shame upon this revelation. I saw no shame in it what-so-ever.

"Those skills you profess may come in very handy once we get to the Homeworld. I'm not sure the technology we've enjoyed here is going to stick around, and I will be preparing us for its absence, just in case."

"Have you spoken to the Aliens directly?" Said Geoffrey

"No, they are very xenophobic. I am trying to convince them it would be in everyone's best interest if we spoke face to face, I just don't know when that'll be."

"I for one would like to know the reason for my existence, the real reason."

"I'm assuming it'll be some type of evolutionary jump once we start breeding." This statement produced a look of shock from everyone.

"This is something I've feared since our assistant explained our role here, what if the children we produce are some type of h-horrible monsters?" Said Margaret with a notable amount of concern in her voice.

Anna always wore her emotions on her sleeve, her eyes were very telling, and I could see the deep level of worry in them upon hearing this question. As a woman, I'm sure this thought concerned her.

"Believe me, Margaret. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this myself. One of the conclusions I've come to is the Aliens have had an absence of love within their existence, and have chosen us to teach it to them. As witnessed by Princess Funny Face over here, they are experts at gene manipulation." The scowl on Anna's face was priceless, but she knew where I was going with this. I still gave her a big smile.

"They may be raising their own by the same creation methods used to make Anna and Geoffrey. They may be genderless, and this is causing a slow die-off of their species due to a lack of diversity, or even a lack of love. I really want to solve this mystery; it is one of my primary goals."

"Margaret, is there anything else you wish to add, or say to us before we go?" Anna was practically cooing, her voice very soothing.

"I did have a horse for a while when I was younger, and I've seen a few around the Habitat, I don't suppose I'll be able to interact with them, eh?"

"Have I got a job for you, Margi!"

So we said our goodbyes and told them to forward any concerns they may have our way in the future. We are here to serve. Anna also set up some time for Margaret to spend time with Kjekk, and he would turn out in time to be a community project. This would free up some time for Anna, something that I greatly appreciated.

So our first time out didn't go too bad. At least we didn't get into any arguments. But I'm not holding my breath. One of the things I've observed is the Hybrides, and their male equivalents are somewhat quiet. I wish I could say the same for mine. Anna seems quite different, not just in appearance, but in abilities as well. Her strong, fearless leadership ability sets her apart; I swear this is by design. She was meant to lead these people, and I'm just coming along for the ride.

* * *

 _A/N, I'm quickly running out of material for this story, and the stuff I have left needs research, which I have no motivation for. We may be nearing the end….._


	28. Death

Today is gonna' be one of those days where I should have just stayed in bed. It would be our fourth trip out among the populous. We had two French couples and a Moldavian couple to see today, we'd start with the Moldavians first. They were only three doors down from our home.

It occurred to me that I haven't followed my own advice, thus making me somewhat of a hypocrite. With all the craziness, Trials, and princely duties I've found myself not spending time with my immediate neighbors. This is something that was lacking on earth as well. We just didn't have time- and when we did- it was usually under the duress of exhaustion. When I got home from work in my old life, I was too tired to socialize. My neighbors frankly sucked, and I had few friends. I'm going to get with some folks and form a committee to study this more in depth, I want to learn more about social interaction and make sure it's vibrant here. This seems like a job for Anna.

"Usle!, are you ready?"

"Don't forget this." My personal shield, she had to keep reminding me to wear it. Thanks, Mom.

"Moldavia, huh? Sounds like an intriguing country."

"Yea, it's where 'Vigo, the sorrow of Moldavia!' is from. Wait, that was Ghostbusters, shit! I know very little about Moldavia, other that it was Europe's poorest country."

"Was?"

"I think the whole planet is on an equal footing at this point." We were just getting ready to head out the door, when Olaf made his appearance.

"There's been a problem at the Tataur's, I haven't been able to establish communications with Damir, their assistant. I do not know what's wrong."

"Then go find out Olaf, enter the home if you have to, Elsa? Stay here so we have a communications link."

"As you wish, your Highness." I really wanted to investigate this myself, but we have been backhandedly warned of danger, I'll let Olaf check it out first. It only took three minutes before we heard back from him.

"Your Highness, I suggest you come quickly."

"What happened, Olaf?"

"This is something you must see for yourself." Anna and I looked at each other with giant eyes, then bolted out the door. The good news was they were close…, that was the only good news...

Anna and I burst thru the door only to be hit by the smell. She immediately started crying. Anna had never experienced death before, and this was shocking.

"OH…, NO! I just..., I just can't!" She ran back out the door with even more fervor than her entry. I started to open all the windows.

"Olaf, send a squad of the Clankers here immediately and set up a perimeter. This is now officially a crime scene. I want as much forensic evidence gathered as possible, and where the fuck is the assistant?!"

My anger started to boil. This was my fault. These people lived a few hundred meters from me, and now they're dead. It had all the look of a murder/suicide. Her throat was slashed and he was hanging by a rope, a chair was lying over very close to him. Judging by the amount of decay, they had been dead for several days. I had Olaf schedule our meeting a week ago. That may have been a mistake.

"Michael, over here." In a corner lay the assistant. The spot he was in appeared charred and smoke had poured out of any orifice it could find its way out of on his orb.

"How did this happen, Olaf?! With all the spying going on around here I would have thought at least you would know about this. I want to be informed _**immediately**_ of anything of this nature right away! Do I make myself clear!" I was practically shouting at this point, Olaf didn't even know how to respond, that damn pause again.

"I'm sorry, your Highness, but I don't make it a habit of following every assistant in the Habitat."

"Well guess what you'll be doing from now on!" I was clearly angry at Olaf for this. Those orbs had to be in constant communication with each other. He's not telling me everything, God-Dammit!

"Oh, SHIT!, Anna!" I went out the door to find her just squatting on the ground, her head in her hands sobbing. It had been a while since I've seen her like this, and with her pheromonic influence, her emotions kinda' carried over to me. I was tearing up as well, but it was part rage and part sorrow. We can't afford to lose anyone.

The pillar of strength had been nicked from a chink in her armor. I'm glad that she still has some vulnerability, it shows she cares.

I picked her up and turned her into me to give her a hug. She was soaking me with her tears.

"Why?! Why would they do that?! This is a paradise! What went so wrong that they had to die?!"

"I don't know Anna, but I'm damn sure gonna' find out."

"Olaf!"

"Yes, your Highness."

"Have Elsa come here and escort the Princess home. Anna, I'll be home as soon as possible, I want to stay here until our troops arrive and see to my instructions." I wanted to get her away from here before I asked this next question.

"Olaf, what should be done with the bodies?"

"They should be recycled, your Highness. I would help to increase our current level of lifestock."

"Lifestock?"

"It's not something you're familiar with and I'm not at liberty to discuss it."

"You are walkin' on thin ice right now, you do understand, right?"

"Of course. Please understand..., I have other loyalties."

"I know, Olaf. I'm sorry; I'm a bit emotional right now."

"Believe it or not, Michael, I understand."

"Cancel our meetings for the next two days, I'm not really in the mood for royal business right now, and inform Rafiq that I want to see Dr. Zahir immediately. Do not disturb the bodies in any way before he has a chance to examine them."

"Do you think that's wise? Considering the amount of ti….."

"Very, very thin ice…, Olaf!" My chest was heaving in anger, Olaf did know when to quit most times.

"As you wish, your Highness." Just then I could see the platoon coming up the trail, along with the typical complement of gawkers that they would attract. Word of this would spread quickly within the kingdom, I never in my wildest dreams figured I'd be dealing with shit like this.

I got home to a very jittery princess, a coffee cup in her hand. I took it, having to practically pry the mug from her hands.

"Do you really think drinking this stuff right now is a good idea?"

"It's decafe. They don't allow us to t-take any drugs, remember?" Well, thank goodness, I gave her the cup back. "OK, then. Are you gonna' be alright?"

"I don't know Michael; this isn't what I signed up for."

"Me neither. I thought I might head some committee at some point. Now I get to play detective in a murder mystery."

"Are we going to be able to handle this?"

"Not alone, I'm going to see if anyone in the kingdom has any experience in this stuff. We are also going to have to rely on Olaf and Elsa for this too. Damir is just as- if not more so- responsible for this tragedy."

"I'm sorry Michael, but I'm really having trouble wrapping my head around this. Look what you've been though, you survived. I'd have to say you've been thru more traumas in the last few weeks than most people experience in a decade."

"Yes, but he may have been at the edge of sanity when he was brought here. I was. I had a room filled with sparkly Frozen crap back home, where I'd bury myself for hours at a time."

"But you didn't murder anybody! Well..., not successfully…, anyhow." She dropped her head at the thought of her own near demise at my hand.

"True, but I did snap. Anything could have happened after that. Not everyone is going to be affected the same way by this place. This could easily happen again. Why don't go we see our immediate neighbors tomorrow, and just take them cookies."

"Awww, that's a sweet gesture, why not?! Plus it would be really nice not having to grill them with personal questions."

Knock, knock.

"Hello, Machbuto, we just stopped by to share some cookies, may we come in?"

"Of course, your Highness..."


	29. DYWTBAS

We were still underway with our mission to meet all the inhabitants of the Habitat. Construction of the Campus was proceeding, and Anna was busy turning Castle Greyskull into something useful.

Other than the lost couple, things have gone kinda' smoothly for a while and it was time for the Gods of Karma to return and fuck everything up. Olaf came out to the veranda for the morning briefing.

"Good morning, your Highness. Did you sleep well?"

"Better than normal, Olaf. But I still can't get the image of those poor people out of my head. I do not want this happening again. It seems I have to reiterate, we have to make this work. You know what? I want to have a conference with all the assistants. Set this up for tomorrow at high star. I'll need some help with getting the message across, Olaf. So start to think about a prepared speech. I know what I want to talk about. If this happens again, there'll be hell to pay, I promise. It is my duty to protect these people."

"I share your concern, your Highness. Remember, Damir was one of my kind. He betrayed me and the rest of the assistants as well."

"Which is why I want to have this conference. Ya got anything else for today?"

"Yes, the environment will be undergoing a 'reset' to cycle the trees. It's been a while since it's been done, and is quite overdue. You will notice a drop in temperature for the next four weeks."

"How low of a drop?"

"Freezing temperature of water."

"Well, I for one could use a change in seasons. Be sure all the assistants inform the kingdom of this change. Some of our inhabitants are not used to the cold and should be instructed on proper attire for winter temps."

"As you wish, your Highness. Will that be all?"

"That about wraps it up for this morning, Olaf."

* * *

After a few days I awoke to slender fingers prying my eye open and this cutesy voice saying;

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

"Hell yea, I wanna' build a snowman!" I looked outside to see thirty centimeters of snow on the ground. Olaf said it would be cold, but this was a complete surprise!

"Come on-come on-come on!" Anna had rediscovered her inner five year old. She went to the replicator and said;

"Produce Frozen outfit oh-one." It was the winter outfit from Oakens. She needed some help getting it on, as the bodice was a rear lace-up affair, and all I could think about was why bother? But she couldn't wait to go out and play in these clothes. That brought a huge smile to my face as we rolled out our new lawn ornament into being. Anna even replicated a fake carrot for the nose. She looked stunning in that outfit. It looked even better after I blasted her in the face with a snowball! That fight was epic, when we were done we were drenched. We managed to end up rolling around in the snow making out, I felt like I was thirteen again. I have to admit, as diversions go, this was one of the best.

We were actually living, it had been a while. When we got inside it was time for some hot chocolate and chocolate chips cookies, well..., because you can never have enough chocolate. Once we were thoroughly dry I just wanted to kick back, but Anna had other plans.

"Elsa, can you bring Kjekk back to the house? I'd like to go for a ride."

"Yes, of course Anna." And off she went. Elsa had been fitted with a strange grappling hook arm which allowed her to grab objects and carry them, something that Olaf- or any of the assistants- didn't have. About a half hour later, here comes Kjekk with Elsa ahold of his bridle, talking to him the whole time. Elsa was very different from all the other assistants. I'm mean, here she was talking to an animal that she knew for a fact couldn't understand her, yet the calming effect of her voice was all Kjekk needed to hear. It's really amazing how strange this place really is.

"Um... Anna? There's something missing on Kjekk." She looked outside; there was no saddle on him.

"A good rider always has a saddle handy." She went to the mud room and pulled out a saddle from a cabinet there- it barely fit- and the saddle was quite small. She then went back to the replicator and ordered up the same outfit she soaked earlier. As I was lacing her up I had to ask;

"You're really into this Frozen shit right now, aren't you?"

"Don't you like it?"

"Well..., yea..., but it reminds me a lot of my old life…, however, you look very beautiful right now, and that more than makes up for any bad feelings I have."

She wrapped me up and gave me this big hug; I swear she tried to pick me up. She planted a kiss on my cheek and said;

"Why don't you stop by the castle tonight, I have something planned especially for you." With that she gave me a wink and was out the door, with Elsa close behind.

I should probably go...

* * *

Thankfully the trails are self-clearing, as I would have really dreaded slogging thru all that snow. I was a bit chilly for a bike ride, but I think Anna had something in mind to warm me up. I was met by Elsa with a group of Clankers at the main foyer. I haven't seen this place since The Trial, she's really got this place looking top notch. Vibrate colors, tapestries, and glass chandeliers. She had more windows and skylights added as well. Some of our artists have contributed their work and displayed it on the walls. This is so much better than before; I knew she had it in her. Elsa led me into a room just off the ballroom and said;

"Put these clothes on and I'll come and get you when she's ready." It was the Hans outfit he wore to Elsa's coronation, epaulettes and all. My junk looked like I stuffed a summer squash in those pants. Take that, Disney!

"She's ready. This way, your Highness..." So I stepped out onto the floor of the ballroom..., and there she was, in the coronation dress. I could feel that slight bit of extra moisture in my eyes. The thing that could never-ever happen…, is before me right now. The intensity of her beauty put an aura around her, giving her a soft, greenish glow. I have no idea if it was real or not, at this moment there wasn't anything that was truly real. Only the maniacal thoughts of a madman- come to life- in this one brief moment of existence.

"Hans! I'm so glad you found me!"

"Care to dance, m' lady?" I saw Olaf hovering over some strange box; I hoped he had some tunes...

He had picked out a smattering of waltzes, some I didn't recognize. I really didn't care.

Cosplay, with a real Princess Anna, in a ballroom inside a castle. The rest of existence just melted away, it was just her and me, a dream come true.

"Are you ready for the next step?"

"There's more?"

"Go back to the waiting room, Olaf will tell you when I'm ready."

"OK." It was about fifteen minutes...

"Michael, go to the second floor, three doors down to the right." So I made my way to the second floor. The stairway was now brilliantly lit, with purple carpeting on the stairs. The walls were decorated with weapons of every kind. A little bit of the kink-master musta' snuck out here. When I opened the door Anna was lying on the floor shivering, her hair pure white. Aha! I get it...

I went and picked her up. "Anna! You're so cold!"

"Hans! You have to kiss me right now, NOW!"

"Woa! slow down! What happened to you?"

"Elsa struck me with her powers."

"You said she'd never hurt you."

"I was wrong, ugh." She started to collapse, and I caught her. I carried her over the couch next to the roaring fake fire.

"She froze my heart and only an act of true love can save me." She looked and sounded so pathetic, damn, she was good!

"A true loves kiss." I cupped her chin and started to bring her lips to mine, then I leapt on top of her and proceeded to maul her with kisses, all the while feeling her up. Then she shoved me on to the floor.

"Michael! That's not how it goes!"

"I was just having some fun with you! I do appreciate what you've done here, really! OK, from a 'true loves kiss'."

So I cupped her chin again and just as our lips were about to touch...

"Oh, Anna. If only there was someone out there who loved you."

"What?! You said..., you did."

"And I do!" Then I started mauling her again, this time she didn't resist, but after a few minutes...

"You couldn't make it all the way thru? That's not being very faithful to the story!"

"Neither is your hair, it hadn't turned all the way white yet."

"Oh. Hmm, I guess I'll have to watch it again."

"When have you seen this movie?"

"Come on, I'll show you."

A theater- with a real screen- sort of. It actually had depth. It could do 3D movies without the glasses. This must be Olaf's doing. So Anna called out;

"Play Frozen, Disney, twenty-thirteen." And that famous sound began. But wait! I've got a better idea for our limited time.

"Pause movie! Anna, I've got an idea. Play Frozen 2, Revenge of the Westergaards, and Elsa, how 'bout some popcorn?"

I never got to see it. I got abducted before the Bluray came out, and I couldn't go to the theater, I had no family to go with, and I damn sure wasn't going by myself. I could just see me standing in that line, pissing my pants with all the rest of the twelve year old girls...

It was actually just what I expected. Anna and Kristoff got married, and had a baby. Elsa stayed tragically single. They defeated the onslaught brought on by the Westergaards, blah, blah, blah. While it was great to see the sisters interact together, the movie fell short of my expectations, it just didn't have the magic of the first one.

It suffered from the same disease as most films on earth. The first one was about what the artist's had wanted to present, the second one was about cashing in. As I said before, every single decision on earth was based on the amount of money that could be made, and this was no exception.

"So…, what did you think of the movie?! I can't wait to replicate some of those outfits!" That was the one thing they managed to nail. Elsa was looking particularly sharp. Anna's clothes always managed to look so conservative in Frozen, I just once wanted to see some leg. My God! That's so funny! Anna is sitting right next me, I see her legs all the time! Hell, I can see them now. She had kicked off her boots and propped her feet up on the seats in front of us.

"Well..., I was expecting more, and I guess they went the kids' movie route... I dunno, but the fact is, I live Frozen every day. I really don't need to see the movies anymore." With that she leaned over and kissed me.

"Why?"

"Why what?" I asked, her question seeming kinda' cryptic.

"Why did you pick me over Elsa? She's so much prettier than I am." It seems that in the second film, they fixed Elsa up a bit, while dressing down her sister.

"Elsa is outwardly beautiful, yours comes from within. Inner beauty is much more powerful that the thin veneer of beauty Elsa had. Plus I've always had a thing for geeky, gingery red-heads."

"But how do you see inner beauty in an animated character?"

"It's in the eyes, I don't know how they did it, but your eyes are just magical. I just don't see that in Elsa. Buuttt..., this second go round she was really hot, maybe I could do some kind of a trade-in..." I tried to be as sarcastic as possible, but I think my attempt at humor was not sitting well with her.

Slug, and repeat slug.

"Shouldn't you stop while you're ahead? I don't know about you, but I'm ready to wrap this day up and head to bed, wanna' join me in my chambers? Don't worry…, it's been completely remodeled." She gave me a wink.

"Sure, but how about doing the Evil Queen outfit?"

"You really want me to...Ohhh!" I was staring straight at her and giving her "The Look"..., she got it. So we went to bed and I roughed her up a bit. She had gone through all the effort to please me today and now it was time to reciprocate. With us now just role-playing it was nowhere near as sickening, but I still was a bit uncomfortable doing it. This was for her.

"Thank you, I know you're not completely comfortable with my sexual desires."

"Well, no, but you did all this for me today. And the fact is..., I've had a really wonderful day…. I love you."

"I have always loved you." It would be our last words of the evening. It had been a really great day. As I lay spooned into her, it was time to reflect on all that has happened.

In this very room, I tried to kill her. Now it's all pretty pastels and flowers, the spiky black bed now replaced with this frilly thing. She had already fallen asleep, her breath quietly flowing in and out, giving me this strange feeling of peace.

Peace…, relaxation…, quiet. Things that have been in short supply lately. But this moment is real. I'm here, in this castle, on this tiny island, floating among the stars. So far, it's been a rocky ride. I never would've believed in all my years this would happen to me, luck has never been on my side. A simple prayer rescued me from a fate worse than death, and gave me the greatest gift of all….

Love.

It wasn't easy, the one thing I feared at the beginning. Love is tough, and gritty. It's a daily challenge. We don't always get what we want. We have to make compromises and be diplomatic. She has given up things for me, I've done things for her I didn't want to do, but somehow, we've managed a balance.

I want this to be my legacy, making things work, and I mean really function properly. No more lust for power, and possessions. No more rule with an iron fist. No more war. No more inequality. I've been given more responsibility than any human who has ever lived, and it's a heavy cross to bear. But with Anna by my side, she'll help me carry the weight of it, and that's all I can ask for.

I don't know what the future holds, but at least we'll have one…

* * *

 _A/N. Unfortunately, this is the last chapter I had in the can that followed the timeline. I was hoping some inspiration would occur by now, but it's just not meant to be, and I'm afraid this is the end. I do have other chapters, but they're post wedding/coronation, and would be out of place._

 _For the very few of you who've hung in this far on this one year anniversary, I thank you._


End file.
